Cade Cunningham believes Saturday's 122-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Mexico City represented another significant sign of growth for the Detroit Pistons.

Cunningham had 21 points and 18 assists – with the latter figure being a career-high tally– as Detroit improved to 4-2 following back-to-back wins.

Duncan Robinson also had 18 points, and Ausar Thompson had 15, but it was Jalen Duran who led the Pistons' charge with a career-best 33 points.

Detroit trailed 93-87 at the end of the third quarter, only to outscore Dallas – who were without injured forward Anthony Davis – by a 35-17 margin in the fourth.

Following an atrocious 14-68 season in 2023-24, Detroit soared to 44-38 and ended a five-year playoff drought last campaign, with Cunningham earning All-Star honours for the first time.

And after a strong start to 2025-26, capped by their first win in five international games, Cunningham believes there is a positive feeling around the franchise.

"It is cool, super cool, the coaching staff put me in great position, and my team-mates helped me. To do it out here was cool," Cunningham said.

"The win is important, we are continuing to grow, and it is important to represent the Pistons organization. We wanted to make sure to handle our business."

Duren, meanwhile, credited his team-mates for putting him in a position to achieve his best points return in just over three years in the NBA.

"I just wanted to get the win. Coach [J.B. Bickerstaff] had a great gameplan and my team-mates found me and the rest is history," said Duren.

Year four JD moving different pic.twitter.com/iRSaW5mWOu

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) November 2, 2025

The Mavericks, meanwhile, are at 2-4 ahead of Monday's road game against the Houston Rockets, and head coach Jason Kidd conceded they got exactly what they deserved.

"They dominated us in the paint, give them credit, they were good in the fourth quarter," Kidd said. 

"It is hard to win in this league; it is not an excuse, you have to play with the guys that you have."