Jalen Green and Cade Cunningham faced off against each other for the first time in their professional careers. As expected, the contest was action-packed with a lot of words exchanged.
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On Wednesday night, the first and second pick of the 2021 Draft – Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green had their first-ever NBA matchup. And it is pretty safe to say, the two sensational youngsters didn’t disappoint.
An action-packed thriller that witnessed 10 lead changed and 6 ties, ended with the Pistons grabbing a much-needed 112-104 win over the Rockets. In a historic matchup between the two rookies, for the first time since 1998, the top 2 picks from the same draft class scored 20 points each in their first meeting.
While Green ended the night with a team-high 23 points, along with 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Cade had his season-best outing with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals while knocking down 4 three-pointers.
The top 2 picks in the 2021 @NBADraft went for 20+ apiece in their first NBA matchup!@JalenGreen: 23 PTS@CadeCunningham_: 20 PTS, W pic.twitter.com/TClCziRGfF
— NBA (@NBA) November 11, 2021
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Cade Cunningham displayed a Tim Duncan-like trait by not talking back to Jalen Green in a chirpy battle
During the third quarter of the matchup, Jalen Green blew past Cunningham to finish the play with an emphatic slam. After finishing the incredible play, the highflyers had a thing or two to say to the #1 pick. After yelling a few words in Cunningham’s direction, the referees were quick in handing the Rockets guard a technical.
Surprisingly, Cunningham chose not to talk back. And clearly, was right in doing so. While Green wouldn’t go on to score after that dunk, Cade had a crucial 5-point 4th quarter, putting a stop to Houston’s 10-0 run with a huge three-pointer. He even got the last laugh as Detroit managed to win and improve their record to 2-8, while the Rockets are now 1-10.
According to Cunningham, all the trash talk he heard on the floor, was only for the cameras. He further revealed why he chose not to indulge in the verbal altercation.
“It depends on what they’re saying. I’ll talk too. Nothing that I heard tonight held any weight to me – it was just all for cameras, I felt like. I wasn’t really tripping. I was just trying to play the game.”
“Nothing that I heard tonight held any real weight to me. It was all for the cameras.”
– Cade Cunningham on talking that took place on the floor pic.twitter.com/qaFUqBsERA
— Johnny Kane (@JohnnyKaneTV) November 11, 2021
With one rookie choosing to talk his talk, and the other letting his game do the talking, it almost feels as if we witnessed a Tim Duncan-Kevin Garnett-esque matchup in these two youngsters.
In most of their contests, Garnett would try getting under Duncan’s skin, but Timmy being the docile athlete he was, would choose to get himself in a verbal battle with The Big Ticket.
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Irrespective, this contest will surely go down in the history books. Undoubtedly, the two prodigies will give us many such exciting battles whenever they go at it against each other.
