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New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
2026-27 · Regular season · Emirates NBA Cup
Cade Cunningham scored 52 with 11 assists and no turnovers, and before Thursday his best turnover-free game was 30 points
Cade Cunningham had 52 points, 11 assists and no turnovers in Detroit’s double-overtime win in Washington. He had finished only 10 of his first 282 games without a turnover, never scoring more than 30 in any of them, and all seven of his earlier 40-point games came with at least two.
In this article
Cade Cunningham scored 52 points with 11 assists in the Pistons’ 144-140 double-overtime win in Washington on Thursday, and he did not commit a turnover in 48 minutes. No player had put up 50 points and 10 assists without a turnover since the NBA began counting turnovers in 1977-78.
For Cunningham, the zero was as unusual as the 52. Before Thursday, he had played 282 regular-season games and finished only 10 of them without a turnover, his game logs on Basketball-Reference show. The most points he had scored in any of those 10 games was 30.
The numbers from Thursday
- 52 points on 16-of-25 shooting, 3-of-5 from three and 17-of-18 at the line, plus 11 assists and 5 rebounds
- 30 of the 52 came after the third quarter: 18 in the fourth, 7 in the first overtime and 5 in the second, by the game’s play-by-play
- It tied George Yardley’s 52 in 1957-58 for the fourth-most points in a regular-season game in Pistons history
- His previous career high was 46, also against Washington, on Nov. 10, 2025
- It was his second straight game without a turnover. He had 17 points and 7 assists and no turnovers in a 122-111 home win over the Wizards on Monday. That is the first time in his career he has gone back-to-back games without one
Every turnover-free game of his career
| Season | Date | Opponent | Result | Points | Assists | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | Jan. 16, 2022 | vs. Suns | L 108-135 | 21 | 4 | 25 |
| 2023-24 | Dec. 30, 2023 | vs. Raptors | W 129-127 | 30 | 12 | 38 |
| 2023-24 | Jan. 7, 2024 | at Nuggets | L 114-131 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 2023-24 | Jan. 31, 2024 | at Cavaliers | L 121-128 | 19 | 7 | 31 |
| 2023-24 | Feb. 13, 2024 | at Lakers | L 111-125 | 12 | 7 | 25 |
| 2024-25 | Feb. 11, 2025 | at Bulls | W 132-92 | 20 | 7 | 27 |
| 2025-26 | Oct. 29, 2025 | vs. Magic | W 135-116 | 30 | 10 | 36 |
| 2025-26 | Jan. 19, 2026 | vs. Celtics | W 104-103 | 16 | 14 | 40 |
| 2025-26 | Jan. 27, 2026 | at Nuggets | W 109-107 | 22 | 11 | 36 |
| 2026-27 | Nov. 9, 2026 | vs. Wizards | W 122-111 | 17 | 7 | 27 |
| 2026-27 | Nov. 12, 2026 | at Wizards | W 144-140 (2OT) | 52 | 11 | 48 |
His big scoring nights always had turnovers
Cunningham had seven 40-point games before Thursday: 43 and 41 in 2023-24, two 40s in 2024-25, and 46, 42 and 42 last season. He turned it over at least twice in every one of them, and three or more times in six.
Ball security has been the trade-off for how much he handles the ball. He averaged 4.4 turnovers a game in 2024-25 and 3.7 last season, and his career average before Thursday was 3.8. Through 11 games this season, he has 35 turnovers, 3.2 a game, with 25.0 points and 7.9 assists. All 35 came in his first nine games.
Where 52 ranks for the Pistons
| Rank | Player | Points | Season | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerry Stackhouse | 57 | 2000-01 | W 110-83 at Bulls |
| 2 | Kelly Tripucka | 56 | 1982-83 | W 128-126 vs. Bulls |
| 3 | Dave Bing | 54 | 1970-71 | L 112-125 vs. Bulls |
| T4 | Cade Cunningham | 52 | 2026-27 | W 144-140 (2OT) at Wizards |
| T4 | George Yardley | 52 | 1957-58 | W 118-113 vs. Nationals |
| T6 | Saddiq Bey | 51 | 2021-22 | W 134-120 at Magic |
| T6 | Richard Hamilton | 51 | 2006-07 | L 145-151 (3OT) at Knicks |
| T6 | George Yardley | 51 | 1957-58 | L 113-131 at Celtics |
| T9 | Malachi Flynn | 50 | 2023-24 | L 113-121 at Hawks |
| T9 | Blake Griffin | 50 | 2018-19 | W 133-132 (OT) vs. 76ers |
The fourth 50-point game of the season
There have been four 50-point games in the first 174 games of the season. Luka Dončić has two of them and Victor Wembanyama has one. Cunningham’s is the only one without a turnover.
| Player | Team | Date | Points | Assists | Turnovers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Dončić | Lakers | Nov. 6 | 53 | 5 | 3 |
| Victor Wembanyama | Spurs | Nov. 4 | 52 | 2 | 1 |
| Luka Dončić | Lakers | Oct. 25 | 52 | 10 | 4 |
| Cade Cunningham | Pistons | Nov. 12 | 52 | 11 | 0 |
Dončić’s 52 and 10 at Utah on Oct. 25 is the only other 50-point, 10-assist game this season.
What to watch
The 8-3 Pistons play at Miami on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Sunday Cairo time). The Heat are 5-6. Cunningham’s next turnover-free game would be the 12th of his career. Leaders in every category are on the WhyNBA stats pages.
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