DETROIT — It looked bleak for the Detroit Pistons on Monday night with overtime already halfway over. The Miami Heat started the final five minutes on an 8-0 run that capped off a 34-7 run with 2:14 remaining in OT to take a 122-114 lead over the Pistons. Coach J.
B. Bickerstaff took a timeout to gather Detroit and Little Caesars Arena was on edge. Advertisement The collective discomfort among spectators in the arena lasted for the length of the Pistons’ timeout, in which Tim Hardaway Jr.
channeled his inner 2012 Ray Allen. Just for a refresher, the two-time NBA champion shot a career-best 45.3 percent from 3-point range with the Boston Celtics that season.
Too much? You tell me. Hardaway drained three consecutive triples in less than a minute of game time , all on assists from Cade Cunningham . Cunningham dished out a career-high 18 dimes to just four turnovers en route to a 125-124 win for Detroit.
Cunningham scored the game-winning layup over the outstretched arms of Terry Rozier and Bam Adebayo with 37.5 seconds left. Apart from a few difficult 3s from Heat guard Tyler Herro down the stretch, the majority of Miami’s points on their run came from lackluster defense and missed assignments from the Pistons on boxouts and cuts.
Cunningham went 2-of-9 shooting in the fourth and overtime for seven of his 20 points and two of his four turnovers. His 11 rebounds notched his sixth triple-double of the season, which is the third-most behind multi-MVP winners LeBron James and N.
