CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored a season-high 33 points, Duncan Robinson added 24 behind six 3-pointers and the Detroit Pistons beat the Charlotte Hornets 124-91 on Monday night for their third straight victory.
Cunningham shot 13 of 20 from the field and had seven assists, five steals and five rebounds in three quarters. He did not play in the fourth.
Brandon Miller finished with 17 points for the Hornets, and Naz Reid added 13.
The Pistons
led most of the game and extended an 11-point halftime lead to 98-75 at the end of the third quarter after making 13 of their first 24 3-pointers. Detroit didn't slow down in the fourth as Robinson and Kevin Huerter hit 3s on back-to-back possessions to push the lead to 29 prompting Hornets coach Charles Lee to empty his bench.
Cunningham hurt the Hornets in a number of ways — on transition drives, 3-pointers, turnaround jumpers and crosscourt passes to set up his teammates for easy buckets.
The Hornets could never find a rhythm offensively despite the season debut of point guard Coby White.
White, pegged as the replacement for LaMelo Ball earlier this offseason, missed the first seven games with a calf strain. He finished seven points on 3-of-8 shooting in 16 minutes. Lee said before the game White will be on a minutes restriction for the foreseeable future.
Lee also said that guard Kon Knueppel's return is “right around the corner.” Knueppel led the league in 3s last season and was the runner-up to Dallas' Cooper Flagg for NBA rookie of the year.
Pistons: Host Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
Hornets: At Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
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