Cade Cunningham Makes Unfortunate NBA History in Game 4 Loss to Magic
The Detroit Pistons entered the 2026 NBA Playoffs with a 60-22 record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
But, the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic defeated them, 112-101, in Game 1 in a stunning surprise. Now, the Pistons dropped Game 4, 94-88 on the road, to go down 3-1 and be on the brink of elimination going into Game 5.
The Pistons scored just 88 points, and Cade Cunningham went just 7-of-23 from the field with 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and an ugly eight turnovers in the loss.
With that, Cunningham became just the second player in NBA playoff history to have 17 or more turnovers in a 2-game span in the same postseason, and the other was LeBron James in 2008.
Cade Cunningham is the 2nd player in NBA playoff history to record 17 or more turnovers in a 2-game span in the same postseason.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 28, 2026
He joins LeBron James in 2008.
Normally, having your name next to LeBron James is a good thing, but not this time.
In Game 3, Cunningham had 27 points but nine turnovers, and he had seven turnovers in Game 2.
During the regular season, Cunningham averaged just 3.7 turnovers per game, so this is an uncharacteristically bad stretch by the Pistons' best player.
He also joined James Harden in more lowly playoff history involving turnovers.
Cade Cunningham's last 3 games:
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) April 28, 2026
8 turnovers
9 turnovers
7 turnovers
Joins James Harden as only players in NBA history with 7+ TOs in three straight playoff games. pic.twitter.com/h0UHLbchzd
None of that is good, and now the Pistons have to win three straight games just to advance to the second round.
Cunningham Also Struggling Late in Games
To be frank, it isn't only the turnovers.
The Pistons as a team have struggled, but Cunningham has not played well in the fourth quarter.
In Game 4, he had just one point the entire final 12 minutes of the game, and that came with just under two minutes remaining on a free throw.
Cade Cunningham in 4th quarters of the Pistons-Magic series:
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 28, 2026
Game 1 - 16 points
Game 2 - 7 points
Game 3 - 12 points
Game 4 - 1 point pic.twitter.com/fE4psD33Ba
Coming into the game, Cunningham was averaging 31 PPG, and only Tobias Harris (18.7) and Ausar Thompson (12 PPG) had averages north of 10.
Still, Cunningham is far and away the best player for Detroit and was even considered as an option for the NBA MVP award, so his subpar play is a major reason why they are down 3-1.
The Pistons will have a quick turnaround with game 5 in Detroit on Wednesday in a do-or-die scenario.
Related: Lakers Get Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic Updates Before Game 5
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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 10:13 PM.