Hot fourth quarter pushes Pistons to victory over Hornets

Cade Cunningham recorded a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Detroit Pistons pulled away from the visiting Charlotte Hornets 112-86 on Saturday night.

Detroit shot 44.1% from the field for the game and outscored Charlotte 33-14 in the fourth quarter. Jalen Duren supplied 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Tobias Harris had 16 points. Duncan Robinson tossed in 15 points and Ausar Thompson had 14 while keying the defense with four blocks and three steals.

Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 19 points apiece. Brandon Miller added 14 points for Charlotte, which shot 31.5% from the field and committed 24 turnovers.

Charlotte was held to 32.6% shooting in the first half as Detroit took a 55-45 halftime lead. Cunningham led the Pistons with 15 points and Harris had 10. The Pistons had a 28-10 edge in points in the paint but Charlotte hung around by making nine 3-pointers.

The Pistons opened the second half with an 11-4 run for a 66-49 lead. Robinson made a pair of 3-pointers during that stretch off feeds from Cunningham, who also knocked down a 3-pointer.

Robinson soon had a four-point play to make it 70-52. When Cunningham set up Thompson for an alley-oop dunk, Detroit's lead increased to 20.

The Hornets finished the quarter with a 16-3 run to cut Detroit's advantage to 79-72. Bridges and Knueppel each had five points during that span.

Charlotte got as close as four early in the fourth, then the Pistons put the game away with a 13-0 outburst. Duren scored six during the run on a dunk, bank shot and layup. When Harris set up Cunningham for an alley-oop dunk with 4:13 remaining, the Pistons extended the lead to 104-79.

The Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, who have won five out of their last six, will play their remaining five games this month on the road.

--Field Level Media