Cade Cunningham Scores 52 With Zero Turnovers as Pistons Outlast Wizards in Double Overtime

By The Arena Staff

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2026 — The Wizards kept hitting shots at the buzzer, and all it did was give Cade Cunningham more time to make history.

Cunningham scored a career-high 52 points with 11 assists and did not commit a single turnover, carrying the Detroit Pistons to a 144-140 double-overtime win over Washington on Thursday night. ESPN and The Associated Press report he is the first player with at least 50 points and 10 assists and no turnovers since the league began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78.

"It was the best I've ever done it in my NBA career for sure," Cunningham said, according to ESPN.

For three quarters it was a good night, not a historic one. Cunningham had 22 points going into the fourth, then scored 18 in the quarter. That still wasn't enough to close it out: Trae Young's 3-pointer at the buzzer tied the game at 121 and sent it to overtime.

Washington scored the first seven points of the extra period, and Cunningham answered with a jumper, two free throws and a 3 to tie it at 130. Duncan Robinson's jumper put Detroit ahead, but AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, tied it again with less than a second left. In the second overtime, Cunningham's 3 put the Pistons up 135-132, Anthony Davis fouled out, and Cunningham's baseline fadeaway with under 30 seconds left gave Detroit a four-point cushion it kept, Bleacher Report noted.

He scored 30 points in the fourth quarter and the two overtimes, the most by a Pistons player since play-by-play tracking began in 1997-98, according to ESPN Research. He went 17 of 18 from the free-throw line, Field Level Media reported. His previous career high was 46, also against Washington, a little more than a year ago, NBA.com noted.

The 52 points tie George Yardley's 1958 total for the fourth-highest scoring game in Pistons history, behind Jerry Stackhouse's 57, Kelly Tripucka's 56 and Dave Bing's 54. ESPN also lists Cunningham as only the fifth player since 1977-78 with a 50-point double-double and zero turnovers, joining Michael Jordan, who did it twice, Moses Malone, Carmelo Anthony and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It nearly overshadowed a milestone for his teammate. Ausar Thompson posted his first career triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. "He led us through the fourth quarter and overtimes," Thompson said. "He did what he does. One person can't just guard him."

Washington had plenty of firepower of its own. Young scored 37 points with 14 assists, and Davis and Alex Sarr each scored 30. ESPN said it was the franchise's first game with three 30-point scorers since Nov. 18, 1969, when the team was still the Baltimore Bullets. The Wizards have now lost six straight, and the Pistons are 8-3.

Sourcing: ESPN, with The Associated Press, NBA.com, Field Level Media and Bleacher Report.