The much-anticipated mano y mano between this year's top two picks finally went down on Wednesday night as the Detroit Pistons faced off with the Houston Rockets.

No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham bested the guy selected after him, Jalen Green, as he led the Pistons to hack out a 112-104 victory. Cunningham, who's been gaining more confidence lately, finished with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals against the slumping Rockets.

But what was more noticeable perhaps was Green talking smack to Cunningham during the game. The flamboyant Rockets rookie has said before that he felt slighted by the Pistons after choosing Cunningham over him in the 2021 NBA Draft.

The Pistons neophyte, however, was clearly not bothered by all the trash-talking. But he also took a swipe at Green (via The Athletic's James Edwards III).

“Nothing I heard tonight held any real weight. It was all for the cameras, I thought.”

Wow!

Green, for his part, finished with 23 points, five rebounds, and two assists but only shot 3-of-11 from long distance. The Pistons improved to 2-8 while the Rockets have only won once in 11 outings.

The 20-year-old Cunningham got his revenge after Green led the Rockets over the Pistons in the NBA Summer League. After woefully struggling in his first few games, the former Oklahoma State standout has slowly found his groove, registering double-digit scoring in their recent assignments.

While wins will come few and far between for the Pistons this season, they sure have a budding talent in Cunningham.