Cade Cunningham on Monday night delivered a triple-double and Tim Hardaway Jr came up big in overtime as the Detroit Pistons held off Miami 125-124 in an NBA thriller that snapped the Heat’s four-game winning streak.
It was just one of the nail-biting finishes on a night that saw Nikola Jokic post his 10th triple-double of the season for the Denver Nuggets in a 130-129 victory over the Sacramento Kings, while the Chicago Bulls edged the Raptors 122-121 in Toronto.
The Pistons had looked to be in full control in Detroit, holding an 18-point lead with 8 minutes, 5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but the Heat roared back, knotting the score at 114-114 on Tyler Herro’s three-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in regulation.
Photo: AFP
Cunningham came up empty on a potential game-winner and the Heat scored the first eight points of the extra session before Hardaway delivered three straight three-pointers to put the Pistons ahead 123-122.
Jimmy Butler’s putback layup put Miami back on top by one, but Cunningham’s banked-in shot gave the Pistons a 125-124 lead with 37.5 seconds remaining as Detroit escaped with the win.
Cunningham finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 18 assists for his sixth triple-double of the season.
Photo: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / USA Today
“It’s what my job is, it’s what my responsibility is,” Cunningham said. “I just try to give it up for my teammates. Growing up that’s what I always dreamt of — being a guy that could do everything.”
Malik Beasley made seven three-pointers on the way to a team-high 28 points to help the Pistons withstand Butler’s triple-double of 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.
Butler added four steals and a blocked shot, but Miami failed to gain ground in the Eastern Conference led by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who improved their league-best record to 23-4 with a lopsided 130-101 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Photo: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / USA Today
In Sacramento, California, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 20 points with 14 rebounds and 13 assists for the Nuggets, who came out on top in a frantic finish that featured seven lead changes in the last 1:15.
Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 28 points, sealing the win with a pull-up basket off an assist from Jokic with 8.6 seconds remaining.
The short-handed Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 40 points from Tyrese Maxey and 33 from Paul George, spoiled the return from injury of Hornets star LaMelo Ball with a 121-108 victory in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Chicago won a close one in Toronto, with Nikola Vucevic scoring 24 points to lead the Bulls, which had seven players score in double digits, to a 122-121 victory over the Raptors.
In Inglewood, California, James Harden scored 24 of his 41 points in the first quarter as he led the Los Angeles Clippers to a 144-107 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Additional reporting by AP
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS