Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games.
In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss.
“We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.”
Photo: AP
Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two blocked shots as Detroit improved to 9-2.
“He’s the one who is going to lead this team whatever we do,” Detroit’s Jalen Duren said of Cunningham. “And to see him fight through and be the great player he is gave us the confidence.”
Jenkins came off the bench for a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds, while Duren added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons.
Photo: Getty Images via AFP
C.J. McCollum, who led Washington with 42 points, sank a floater with 14 seconds remaining to give the Wizards a 126-121 lead.
However, Jenkins, who had not played in three games, sank a three-pointer with three seconds remaining and, after a Kyshawn George free throw for Washington, hit another three-pointer at the buzzer to equalize at 127-127 and force overtime.
“I know what I’m capable of. I just had to believe in myself and trust in my work,” Jenkins said.
“He never shies away from the moment. He’s going to be a great player in this league, and that showed tonight,” Duren said of Jenkins.
In the extra session, Duncan Robinson’s three-pointer gave Detroit the lead, and Green’s dunk made it 136-133 with 25 seconds remaining.
George added a layup for the Wizards, and Duren sank a free throw to create the final margin, and McCollum missed two three-point attempts in the dying seconds.
In another overtime drama, Norman Powell scored 33 points and Andrew Wiggins added 23, including the winning dunk at the overtime buzzer to lift Miami over Cleveland 140-138, ending the Cavaliers’ four-game win streak to leave both clubs 7-4.
Jaime Jaquez’s jumper with 7.1 seconds remaining lifted Miami level at 128-128 to force overtime.
Powell sank two free throws with 6.5 seconds left for a 138-135 Miami edge, but Donovan Mitchell, who led the Cavs with 28 points, made a three-pointer with 0.4 of a second remaining to equalize.
Miami, however, won at the buzzer when Wiggins made an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Nikola Jovic.
Another tension-packed contest came in Orlando, where Desmond Bane’s three-pointer at the final buzzer gave the host Magic a 115-112 home victory over Portland.
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 28 points while Bane added 22, missing all five of his three-point shots before hitting the game winner.
Victor Wembanyama delivered a dominating performance with 38 points, 12 rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs in a 121-117 triumph at Chicago.
The Frenchman was 11-of-19 from the floor, including six-of-nine from three-point range, and 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
Luka Doncic had a game-high 38 points with seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers in a 121-111 victory at Charlotte.
Austin Reaves added 24 points, and Japan’s Rui Hachimura contributed 21 for the Lakers.
Czech reserve guard Vit Krejci scored a career-high 28 points, hitting nine-of-13 shots from the floor — eight-of-10 from three-point range — to lead the Atlanta Hawks over the host Los Angeles Clippers 105-102.
James Harden matched a club record with his seventh triple double for the Clippers with 35 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but the team’s losing streak reached five games.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, and added eight rebounds and six assists in a 116-114 Bucks victory at Dallas.
Grayson Allen scored 42 points, hitting 12-of-17 shots from the floor and 10-of-15 three-pointers to lead host Phoenix over New Orleans 121-98.
Anthony Edwards scored 35 points and Julius Randle added 27 to power Minnesota’s 120-113 victory at Utah.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue