Cade Cunningham's Historic 45-10-10-5 Lifts Detroit Pistons in OT

Cade Cunningham made NBA history Monday, becoming the first player ever with at least 45 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals in a 137-135 overtime win that pushed Detroit’s streak to seven. He willed a short-handed Pistons team through a furious fourth-quarter comeback but did so inefficiently (14-of-45), the first player since Kobe in 2002 to miss 30+ shots. Merlin sees both omen and warning. Detroit sits 9-2 with a top-five defense; Cunningham is at MVP level (27.5 pts, 9.9 ast) and the offense should improve when Jaden Ivey returns. Still, the heavy usage and shaky efficiency create sustainability questions — add depth and Detroit becomes a genuine title threat, fail to and this run may be a brilliant outlier.