Pistons' Cade Cunningham learns tough lesson after brutal mistake

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles in the second half against the Miami Heat at Little Caesars Arena.

Tied at 101-101 with just about eight seconds left on the game clock, former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham had a chance to be a hero for the Detroit Pistons.

He had just tied the game with 42 seconds left on the clock and thanks to a Miami Heat turnover, the Pistons were gifted a chance to pick up just their 13th win of the season.

Cunningham teed up a three-pointer to win the game, but the problem was that eight seconds was eight too many. He should have bled the clock a bit more to ensure that his last shot was truly the last shot of regulation, but he didn’t.

His three pointer clanked off the backboard into Terry Rozier’s waiting arms. He sprinted down the court in record time and set up Bam Adebayo for a game-winning three pointer, and unlike Cunningham just seconds before him, Bam did not miss.

It goes down in the record books as a nondescript 104-101 loss for Detroit in a season that has seen plenty of losing. Perhaps more importantly for Cunningham, though, the moment serves as a tough learning moment. He’s a young budding superstar with unlimited potential, but that mistake cost his team the game.

“I liked the matchup I had, so I knew I was gonna take that on,” Cunningham said after the game, per Omari Sankofa II. “We had already decided I was going to go four low. I read they were about to come double me and I tried to keep my matchup. Missed the shot. … It’s a tough loss man, that one hurt.”

More than missing the shot, Cunningham took his lumps and learned a bit more about the importance of clock management in the NBA.

That’s a mistake he likely won’t be making again. Unfortunately, the cost of the lesson in this instance was a loss.

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