The Detroit Pistons started their NBA Cup run with a bang as they defeated the Brooklyn Nets in a 110-94 win on Friday. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons' five players who reached double figures with 20 points. The forward duo of Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle led the Nets' starting five a combined 28 points, while center Moritz Wagner scored a team-leading 16 off the bench.

Brooklyn's offensive engine nearly stalled just as quickly as it came to life through a flurry of paint buckets in the first quarter, including an intercepted pass to the house from Nets wing Chaney Johnson. Detroit tried to take the driver's seat back through the efforts of Cunningham, who would end the first quarter with eight points and two assists as he hit pinpoint passes and flashy jumpers. Brooklyn steadied itself as it continued to attack the paint, where it scored all but two of its buckets in the first quarter, which kept it at a comfortable lead even as neither side could find any answers from the 3-point line.

Detroit seemed to finally break through its 3-point barrier with a pair of 2nd-quarter makes from Duncan Robinson and Kevin Huerter, which fueled enough of a comeback run to spark a back-and-forth battle for the lead. The Pistons would end the quarter with five 3-point makes on nine tries, a much-needed turnaround from their ice-cold start, but still finished the game with a 29.3% clip from long range. Guided by a handful of highlight plays from Ausar Thompson, the Pistons finally found the driver's seat as they pulled ahead to a 7-point lead by halftime.

It wouldn't take long for Detroit to use a 1-sided quarter to put Brooklyn in the rearview for good. Holland led the high-flying Pistons with 12 straight points as Detroit jumped out to one of its largest leads of the night by the end of the 3rd quarter. Not even a short late run from the Nets could help them claw back from the 26-point hole, which put the Pistons in a strong place heading into the rest of their East Group A play.

The Pistons will have three weeks to prepare for their next cup matchup against the Toronto Raptors. Detroit went 2-2 in NBA Cup games during its 2025 run, where two wins over the Nets and Philadelphia 76ers were canceled out by two razor-thin losses to the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics. Orlando, which the Pistons will face in their 2026 slate of Cup games, went on to go 4-0 in Cup matchups before falling to the New York Knicks in its semifinals.

Detroit will move on to face the Charlotte Hornets, who recently fell in an 8-point loss to the Pistons despite 31 points from forward Brandon Miller. Three straight 30-point games from Miller pushed him to a team-leading 25.6 points per game entering Friday, while Charlotte big Moussa Diabate took point on the boards for a team that rivaled the Pistons in rebounding power heading into the Friday slate of games. The Hornets started the regular season with a win of their own over the Nets as a two-man show couldn't counter five Hornets, including a Charlotte newbie in center Naz Reid, hitting double figures.

The Pistons will tip off against the Hornets at 7:30 p.m. EST on Monday in the Spectrum Center. The game will be broadcast on DAZN and TV20 Detroit.