Cade Cunningham Is Taking the Pistons to Game 7, and It’s Going to Be Bedlam in Detroit
The Detroit Pistons are going home for a Game 7, and Little Caesars Arena is about to become the loudest building in sports.
Detroit won Game 6 in Cleveland 115-94 on Friday, handing the Cavaliers their first home loss of the entire 2026 playoffs. Cade Cunningham led the charge with 21 points, and the Pistons got 48 points off their bench, more than double Cleveland’s bench output of 19. The message was clear: this series isn’t done yet.
Cunningham was emotional about coming home. “It’s going to be a madhouse in there,” he said after the game. He’s right. The Pistons are 5-0 all-time in Game 7s at home, a perfect record that carries real psychological weight when you step into that building with everything on the line.
This is a remarkable run for Detroit. They played their first Game 7 in 20 years last round against Orlando, with Cunningham delivering 32 points and 12 assists to advance. He leads the entire league in postseason scoring at 29.3 points per game. He’s been the kind of player in these playoffs that you don’t mess around with when the pressure is highest.
Cleveland has a legitimate answer in Evan Mobley, and their defensive scheme has given Cunningham problems throughout the series. The Cavaliers are not some soft opponent. But the Pistons have staved off elimination four times now in this postseason. That kind of resilience doesn’t happen by accident.
Detroit hasn’t reached the Eastern Conference Finals since 2008. That drought ends Sunday, or it doesn’t. Game 7. Home court. Cade Cunningham at full force. The Pistons deserve to be considered the favorite in this one.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
