CLEVELAND (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 27 points, Daniss Jenkins added 25 — 21 in the second quarter alone — and the Detroit Pistons held on down the stretch for a rare road win at Cleveland, beating the Cavaliers 114-110 on Sunday.
Despite playing without two starters, the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons snapped a nine-game losing streak at Rocket Arena and beat the Cavaliers for just the second time in 15 games.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 — 23 after halftime — to pace Cleveland, which trailed by 13 with less than five minutes to go before cutting Detroit’s lead to 108-106 on Darius Garland’s basket with 1:16 left.
However, Pistons forward Ausar Thompson scored on a tip-in with 17.2 seconds remaining, and Jenkins made four free throws in the final 5.7 seconds to put the Cavs away.
Cunningham went 11 for 11 from the line and the Pistons made all 21 free-throw attempts.
Cleveland’s Darius Garland scored 16 but went 0 for 7 on 3-pointers. Evan Mobley and Sam Merrill added 15 points apiece for the Cavs, who saw their winning streak stopped at three.
MAGIC 135, PACERS 127
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Desmond Bane scored 31 points, Paolo Banchero added 28 points and 12 rebounds and Orlando handed Indiana its 12th straight loss.
Anthony Black had 27 points and 10 assists for the Magic, who beat the Pacers for the second time in five days.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 34 points. Aaron Nesmith had 25 points and eight assists and Andrew Nembard added 20 points and 11 assists for the Pacers, who shot 55.2 % after coming into the game with the NBA’s poorest field-goal percentage (43.8%).
Orlando shot 56% overall and made 15 of 32 3-pointers (46.9%).
Seven months after playing in the NBA Finals, the injury-depleted Pacers tied a 43-year-old franchise record with their 12th straight loss. Two of their last three losses were against the Magic, including a 112-110 decision on Dec. 31 at Indianapolis.
Bane scored nine points during a 17-0 run that wiped out an early 12-point Pacers lead.
Siakam kept Indiana in the game with a 20-point third quarter and the Pacers took a one-point lead on a couple of free throws by Nembhard with 7:29 left in the game. Bane answered with a layup, fed Banchero for a 3-pointer and the Magic held on.
NETS 127, NUGGETS 115
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in his first game against his former team, and Brooklyn beat Denver to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Nuggets got Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun back from lengthy injury absences and a huge game from Jamal Murray, but fell to 1-2 since Nikola Jokic was lost for perhaps a month with a hyperextended left knee.
Murray finished with 27 points, a career-high 16 assists and six rebounds. Gordon had 20 points off the bench after missing 19 games with a strained right hamstring, while Braun started and scored four points after he sat out 23 games with a sprained left ankle.
Noah Clowney added 22 points for the Nets, while Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe each had 17. Sharpe started at center with Nic Claxton out for personal reasons.
Porter played six seasons for the Nuggets after being taken with the No. 14 pick in the 2018 draft and was a starter on their 2023 NBA championship team. He was traded to Brooklyn in the offseason for Cam Johnson and came in averaging a career-high 25.8 points.
TIMBERWOLVES 141, WIZARDS 115
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 35 points, Julius Randle added 22, and Minnesota completed a season sweep of Washington.
Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 14 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season for Minnesota, which outscored Washington 76-48 in the paint. The Timberwolves went 3-1 on their road trip and won on consecutive days for the third time this season.
CJ McCollum had 20 points to lead Washington, which at 9-25 has the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards had won four of five.
Minnesota had its third 140-plus-point game of the season, while the Wizards allowed 140-plus for the fourth time.
The Timberwolves did not trail after the first five minutes behind Edwards’ strong start. The guard had 16 points in the first quarter — his most in the opening period this season — as Minnesota built a 38-28 lead.
Washington had nine turnovers in the first half and forced just one. Minnesota scored 12 points off turnovers en route to a 73-58 halftime lead and had a 26-13 scoring edge off turnovers for the game.
HEAT 125, PELICANS 106
MIAMI (AP) — Norman Powell made a career high nine 3-pointers in a 34-point performance as Miami beat New Orleans, extending the Pelicans’ losing skid to seven.
Powell shot 11 of 15 from the field and 9 of 12 from behind the arc. Nikola Jovic finished with 19 points and Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who rebounded from a 10-point home loss to Minnesota on Saturday that snapped a four-game winning streak. Miami’s Pelle Larsson had 16 points and six assists.
Ahead by one early in the third quarter, the Heat broke it open with a 21-2 run. Powell hit three 3-pointers during the surge. Bam Adebayo’s 3-pointer with 4:14 remaining in the period ended the spurt and put Miami ahead 91-71.
Trey Murphy III returned from a one-game absence because of back spasms and scored 27 points, while Jeremiah Fears added 21 for the Pelicans. After scoring 12 points in the first half, New Orleans star forward Zion Williamson was held scoreless in the final two periods.
The Heat outscored the Pelicans 31-11 in fast break points and had a season-high 19 steals.
New Orleans finished with a season high 24 turnovers and dropped to 2-13 on the road.
The Associated Press
