Cade Cunningham scored 29 points and helped the Detroit Pistons withstand the Denver Nuggets’ late comeback attempt for a 124-121 victory in what could be a preview of this year’s NBA Finals.
Eastern Conference leaders Detroit appeared headed for an easy win after building a 20-point lead early in the third quarter thanks to a 37-point second quarter.
But Denver star Nikola Jokic responded with 10 points in the third quarter and Jamal Murray added 14 points in the final quarter, cutting the Pistons’ lead to single digits in the final minutes.
Cunningham, however, was not intimidated and made two decisive free throws in the final, giving Detroit a five-point lead nine seconds before the siren and thus ending the game.
Jamal Murray was Denver’s leading scorer with 32 points, while Jokic finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
All five Detroit starters finished in double figures: in addition to Cunningham, there were 20 points from Duncan Robinson – with six triples – and 19 points from Jalen Duren.
The rest of the league
With the win, Detroit moves to a 37-12 record atop the Eastern Conference, five and a half games ahead of the second-place New York Knicks, who extended their winning streak to seven games with a 132-101 drubbing of the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
Mikal Bridges scored 23 points and Jalen Brunson added 21 in a game dominated from start to finish by the Knicks, who also reached +41 in the fourth quarter. The Knicks are now at 32-18.
The Boston Celtics remain third in the standings, also with a 32-18 record, after beating the Dallas Mavericks in Texas 110-100.
Mavs rookie Cooper Flagg once again dazzled the American Airlines Center with a 36-point performance, but Dallas could never really get close to a Celtics team that was always in control from the first quarter.
Jaylen Brown’s 33 points led the Celtics, with Payton Pritchard adding 26 off the bench.
In the Western Conference, the reigning NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, became the first team of the season to reach 40 wins, overwhelming the Orlando Magic 128-92.
Oklahoma City took off already at the end of the first quarter, finishing ahead by 25 points, and managed without problems until the end, with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continuing his incredible series of games of at least 20 points.
The Canadian star, who finished with 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds, has now scored at least 20 points in 121 consecutive games and is just six games away from surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s historic record, set at 126 between 1961 and 1963.
In other games, the Los Angeles Lakers closed their trip with a clear 125-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
LeBron James shone with 25 points, Luka Doncic scored 24, while the Lakers found Austin Reaves, who returned after a month out due to injury. Reaves finished with 15 points off the bench.
Youth record
Isaiah Collier becomes the youngest in NBA history to make 20+ assists in a single game. The Utah Jazz point guard reached this spectacular milestone during his team’s victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Collier, 21 years and 118 days old, had 22 assists and 17 points in Utah’s 131-122 win. He fell seven assists short of surpassing John Stockton’s franchise record of 28 in a single game.
