With five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Tyler Herro dropped in a pair of free throws and tied the match against the Pistons, who had trailed by 12 points during the first half. However, Cade Cunningham came in clutch and delivered a devastating three-point dagger that buried the Heat.
Not even Bam Adebayo could do anything about it, as he stuck to the Detroit superstar all the way from the baseline to the sideline, but wasn’t enough to stop Cade’s 24-footer with 0.6 seconds to go, which stunned the crowd at Kaseya Center and gave his team a thrilling 116-113 road victory over Miami.
“We trust Cade to go out and create the shot he’s most comfortable with,” said Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff after the matchup in Florida. “We know he’s going to get a shot. Tonight he got the bank and the kiss to get it in.”
Even though Cunningham’s shot wasn’t precise early in the game, missing six of his first eight shots, he progressively caught fire and ended the night with 25 points on 11-for-25 shooting, along with 12 rebounds, 11 assists, two blocks and a steal in 36 minutes of play— his 9th triple-double of the campaign.
Cunningham had struggled with his shot early, missing six of his eight attempts in the first quarter, but finished with 25 points on 11-for-25 shooting to go with 12 rebounds, 11 assists, two blocks and a steal in 36 minutes — his ninth triple-double of the season.
Coach Erik Spoelstra was at a loss of words. “There’s no way to explain some of this, the bank shot at the end,” he said after another loss in clutch time. “There’s no way to explain that. You just have to find more resolve. We’re all getting tested in so many different ways that we do not want to get tested.”
While Adebayo led his team with 30 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, plus Herro’s contribution of 29 points, four rebounds, three assists, the Heat fell to 29-40 and standing 10th in the East, with a poor 4-16 record since trading out Jimmy Butler.
“To have put ourselves in the position we put ourselves is something not many people saw us doing,” Cade said postgame. “It’s something we’re super proud of. We also know there’s a lot of work ahead to get the respect we want in this league … I don’t feel like we’ve accomplished anything yet.”
