Taking the court with a shorthanded frontcourt, Cade Cunningham embraced MVP chants in the Pistons blowout win over the Mavericks.

Cade Cunningham on Jan. 31 on NBA All-Star honor: "Been a lot of work, a lot of wins, losses, lessons, all that stuff that's led up to this point."

Cade Cunningham says his All-Star selection is "just the beginning" of his Pistons history. Brad Galli has more

On Friday night, Cunningham backed up his status as a star in the league in his first official game as an All-Star. He dropped 40 points, tying his season-high, on the Dallas Mavericks to lead the Pistons to a decisive 117-102 victory. Near the end of the game, the home crowd in Detroit showered Cunningham with “MVP” chants.

Cunningham ended with 40 points (17-30 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 3-3 FT), six rebounds, four assists and one steal across 36 minutes during Friday's 117-102 victory over the Mavericks. In his first game since being named an All-Star,

However, experience didn’t prevail this time around. The Irving-led Mavericks suffered a 117-102 loss to Cunnigham and the Detroit Pistons. It was the first loss in the Mavericks’ five-game road trip that continues in Cleveland on Sunday.

Star. The Detroit Pistons breakout star was officially named a reserve for the 2025 All-Star Game on Thursday, becoming the first player from the franchise to make the game since Blake Griffin in 2019.

Chicago Bulls (21-28, 10th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (24-24, sixth in the Eastern Conference) Detroit; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Detroit hosts the Chicago Bulls after Cade Cunningham scored 40 points in the Detroit Pistons' 117-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 28 points (just 9/23 shooting) and six rebounds, followed by P.J. Washington's 22 points and 13 rebounds. Daniel Gafford (16 points, 10 rebounds), and Klay Thompson (13 points) were also in double figures. The rest of the Mavs struggled, scoring 23 points on 9/29 shooting.

Headlined by Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson, the Detroit Pistons will be represented well during the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Just a day after being named to his first All-Star Game, Cade Cunningham's 40 points leads the Detroit Pistons to the win over the Dallas Mavericks.