Another night at Madison Square Garden this season called for a tough January battle for the Detroit Pistons against the New York Knicks. Cade Cunningham and hi

Cade Cunningham scored 36 points, Malik Beasley had 22 and a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final 40 seconds and the surging Detroit Pistons beat New York 124-119, their second straight victory over the Knicks after dropping the previous 16 meetings.

The New York Knicks lacked the necessary horsepower to stifle the Detroit Pistons on Monday night. Behind a dominant second half for franchise face Cade Cunningham, the Pistons denied the Knicks consecutive victories, taking a 124-119 decision at Madison Square Garden.

Cameron Payne began to change the Knicks' tone after a lackluster start. He scored eight of his 10 points in the second quarter and helped initiate a 16-2 run for New York. The Knicks outscored the Pistons 37-22 during the period, which resulted in Detroit trailing 63-59 by halftime.

Cunningham had 36 points and the win as the Pistons took a 124-119 decision. The Knicks got 31 points and 11 assists from Brunson while Mikal Bridges added 27 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 12 rebounds while playing through apparent pain after hitting his right thumb on the backboard early in the game.

For the second time this season, the Detroit Pistons paid a visit to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Both times, the Pistons found positive results. Cade Cunningham, specifically, improved his NBA All-Star campaign in both outings.

Cade Cunningham is now in company with Oscar Robertson, making the Pistons star a real-life superhero for the tortured franchise.

Cade Cunningham leading Pistons back to relevancy Detroit is relevant in basketball circles again and Cade Cunningham is a big reason why.

After winning only 14 games last season, Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons are 21-19 and playing like a whole different basketball team. Which, for the most part, they are.