Cade Cunningham led everyone with 33 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the visiting Detroit Pistons held on for a 110-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets Monday night in a game marred by a massive third-quarter brawl.
The fighting resulted in four ejections prior to the Pistons winning for the seventh time in their last nine games and the Hornets seeing an end to their nine-game winning streak.
It began with a confrontation when Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate fouled Detroit’s Jalen Duren across the arms while trying to stop a shot attempt in the paint. Duren turned to square up with Diabate and issued a slap that set Diabate off. When that scrap wound down, another broke out near midcourt with the main participants being Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart, who came off the bench.
By the end of the fighting, the mayhem spread across most of the court. Diabate, Bridges, Duren and Stewart were ejected at the 7:09 mark of the third quarter — at which point the Pistons owned a 70-62 lead. Duncan Robinson provided 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting, Duren had 15 points in 20 minutes and Paul Reed added 12 points for the Pistons.
Cavaliers 119, Nuggets 117
Donovan Mitchell hit two free throws with less than a second left and Cleveland rallied from down seven late in the fourth quarter to beat host Denver for the Cavaliers’ ninth win in 10 games.
Mitchell finished with 32 points and 10 assists, James Harden added 22 points and 10 rebounds in his second game with the Cavaliers, and Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Nikola Jokic put up 22 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, but the Nuggets lost for the fourth time in five games when he missed a 3-point attempt at the horn. Jamal Murray amassed 17 points and 11 assists.
Thunder 119, Lakers 110
Jalen Williams scored 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 19 as Oklahoma City ended a two-game losing streak with a win in Los Angeles in a game where both teams were missing an All-Star.
Alex Caruso put up 17 points and Chet Holmgren totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) for the third consecutive game. Gilgeous-Alexander will be replaced in the All-Star Game on Sunday by the Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun.
LeBron James scored 22 points and dished 10 assists while Marcus Smart added 19 points for the Lakers, who saw a three-game winning streak come to an end. Los Angeles was without Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) for the second consecutive game. Doncic (32.8 points per game) and Gilgeous-Alexander (31.8 ppg) are the NBA’s top two scorers.
Trail Blazers 135, 76ers 118
Toumani Camara established career highs of 30 points and eight 3-pointers as Portland routed visiting Philadelphia, which was playing the final game of a five-game trip.
Deni Avdija returned from a four-game absence caused by a back injury to produce 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Portland, which outscored the 76ers 49-22 in the decisive third quarter. Jerami Grant and Donovan Clingan added 15 points apiece for the Trail Blazers, who won their third straight game.
Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points for the 76ers, who played without Joel Embiid (knee) while concluding the 3-2 road trip. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 19 points while Trendon Watford and backup Justin Edwards each scored 12 for Philadelphia, which lost for the second time in their past eight games.
Warriors 114, Grizzlies 113
Gui Santos turned a scramble under the hoop into a go-ahead layup with 19.4 seconds remaining and Golden State rallied from 17 points down in the second half to stun Memphis in San Francisco.
Pat Spencer had 17 points and seven assists to lead the Warriors, who were without injured Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III as they await the debut of Kristaps Porzingis. Memphis was missing Ja Morant, Santi Aldama and Zach Edey.
Ty Jerome was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points to complement seven assists for the Grizzlies, who lost their third game in a row. Rookie Jahmai Mashack chipped in with a career-high 17 points but missed a shot in the final seconds.
Jazz 115, Heat 111
Reserve Brice Sensabaugh knocked in a go-ahead 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter as visiting Utah shocked Miami.
Utah, which entered Monday with 18 losses in its 22 previous games, led 85-82 after three quarters. However, for the second straight game, the Jazz benched multiple starters for the entire fourth quarter.
Still, the Jazz prevailed despite the late absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. (22 points), Markkanen (17 points) and Jusuf Nurkic (10 points, game-high 16 rebounds). The Heat were led by Andrew Wiggins, who scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. Bam Adebayo added 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Pelicans 120, Kings 94
Trey Murphy III produced 21 points and seven assists, Zion Williamson added 18 points, six assists and five rebounds, and New Orleans knocked off visiting Sacramento, handing the Kings a record-setting defeat.
The Kings took their 13th defeat in a row, setting a club record since the team moved to Sacramento ahead of the 1985-86 season. The franchise-worst skid is 14 games, recorded by the Cincinnati Royals in both 1959-60 and 1971-72.
Jeremiah Fears added 20 points off the bench for the Pelicans, who won their second straight game while posting their biggest win of the season in terms of margin of victory. Rookie Maxime Reynaud totaled 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to lead Sacramento.
Nets 123, Bulls 115
Nic Claxton collected a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds and Brooklyn came back from blowing a 15-point lead in the third quarter to beat Chicago in New York.
The Nets won consecutive games for the third time this season thanks to Claxton, who made 12 of 15 shots and surpassed his previous career high of 27 set against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 26, 2023. He recorded his 10th double-double and added four assists.
Claxton’s big night helped the Nets improve to 2-9 this season when Michael Porter Jr. is held out. Porter sat due to right knee tendinitis and rookie Egor Demin was rested. The Bulls dropped their fifth straight and fell for the eighth time in nine games.
Timberwolves 138, Hawks 116
Anthony Edwards scored 30 points on 11-for-21 shooting and Minnesota pulled away for a win over Atlanta in Minneapolis.
Julius Randle notched 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who bounced back from a 19-point loss one day earlier against the Los Angeles Clippers. Ayo Dosunmu recorded 21 points off the bench.
CJ McCollum put up 38 points to lead Atlanta, which lost its second game in a row. Nickeil Alexander-Walker registered 23 points and 12 rebounds against his former team.
Magic 118, Bucks 99
Franz Wagner scored 14 points in 17 minutes in his return to action for Orlando and was a catalyst in a game-changing third-quarter run as the Magic downed visiting Milwaukee.
Anthony Black amassed 26 points and Desmond Bane added 25 for the Magic, who have now won three in a row, matching their best runs of the season.
Milwaukee’s modest three-game winning streak — its longest of the season — was snapped. The Bucks, still without star Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf), got 28 points and seven assists from Kevin Porter Jr. plus 15 points from AJ Green.
