Cade Cunningham makes Detroit Pistons debut in win over Orlando Magic

DETROIT, Mich. -- The wait is over.

A new era of Detroit Pistons basketball is officially underway as No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham made his debut in Saturday's 110-103 win over the Orlando Magic.

Cunningham missed the entire preseason and the first four games of the regular season because of a sprained ankle suffered during training camp. He went through team drills on Friday before being cleared to play, but was under a minutes restriction of 20-25 minutes. 

He had 2 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in 19 minutes. 

"There's no way you can sit out a month and come back 100%,'' said Pistons coach Dwane Casey, who limited Cunningham to just five minutes in the second half. "I loved the way he played and the effort he gave us, but there was going to be rust.''

Cunningham struggled from the floor in the first half of his debut, going 1 for 7 and missing all four 3-point attempts.

"I thought it was a good night,'' he said. "I wanted to make sure my ankle was good, and I was able to go out there and make some plays and grab some rebounds. Now I know I'm fine, so I can play free and easy moving forward.''

Cunningham's first game marks 40 years to the day after franchise legend Isiah Thomas made his Pistons debut.

In winning their first game of the season, Detroit avoided its first 0-5 start since 2012-13.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.