Cade Cunningham’s late surge propels Pistons past Hawks 99-98

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored eight of his 18 points in the final 3:21, and the Detroit Pistons rallied to beat the Atlanta Hawks 99-98 on Monday night.

Atlanta had a chance to win with 0.1 seconds left, but Jalen Johnson couldn’t convert a tip-in as time expired.

Jalen Duren had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons, who won for the 15th time in 17 games. Caris LeVert added 14 points and made two key defensive plays down the stretch.

Johnson had 29 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta, which had won four of five. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 26 points and Onyeka Okongwu scored 20.

Neither team led by more than five points until LeVert made it 74-68 with the last basket of the third quarter.

Detroit created possessions with relentless pressure on the glass — it had more offensive rebounds than Atlanta had defensive rebounds for much of the game — but gave them back with 22 turnovers in the first three quarters.

WIZARDS 129, BUCKS 126

WASHINGTON (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 28 points, including a 3-pointer with 14.4 seconds remaining that helped Washington outlast Milwaukee.

The Wizards (3-16) have won two of three following a 14-game losing streak, and Milwaukee only managed a split in two games against Washington and Brooklyn — two of the NBA’s worst teams.

It was tied at 115 after former Bucks standout Khris Middleton made a 3-pointer for Washington. Then Giannis Antetokounmpo nearly lost control of the ball while being fouled on a drive, but managed to flip it up and in for a three-point play with 3:36 to play. Then Antetokounmpo slammed down an alley-oop on Milwaukee’s next possession.

The Wizards battled back, however, taking a two-point lead on Middleton’s 3-pointer with 52.2 seconds remaining. Antetokounmpo — who was called for a violation in the first half for not shooting a free throw quickly enough — was fouled with 39.3 seconds left and made one of two. Then McCollum stepped back and sank a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to make it 127-123.

HEAT 140, CLIPPERS 123

MIAMI (AP) — Norman Powell scored 30 points against his former team, Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes and Miami downed reeling Los Angeles.

Tyler Herro and Andrew Wiggins each scored 22 for the Heat, who trailed by two early in the second quarter before going on a 30-2 run. Miami also hit 24 3-pointers, tying a franchise record done on two previous occasions.

Miami went on a 12-0 run in the first 2:02 of the third quarter, all on 3-pointers, two of them by Adebayo. That turned a 20-point halftime lead into a 32-point edge and the outcome was not in serious doubt again.

Kawhi Leonard scored 36 and Ivica Zubac finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers. They started the season 3-2 and have gone 2-14 since, falling to 5-16 — the worst 21-game start for the franchise since a 4-17 beginning to the 2010-11 season.

James Harden scored 11 points for the Clippers in 20 minutes, and didn’t play in the final 22:34. The Clippers were outscored by 39 points when he was on the floor.

NETS 116, HORNETS 103

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. scored 35 points, Noah Clowney had 18 and Brooklyn beat Charlotte.

Nic Claxton added 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for Brooklyn, which had lost four in a row. Reserves Danny Wolf and Drake Powell each scored 10 points.

Porter went 7 for 11 from 3-point range. The Nets went 17 for 43 from beyond the arc, compared to 12 for 32 for the Hornets.

Kon Knueppel scored 18 points for Charlotte, which had won two in a row. LaMelo Ball had 12 points and 14 assists, and Collin Sexton finished with 15 points.

CAVALIERS 135, PACERS 119

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points to lead Cleveland to a victory over Indiana.

Mitchell, who made 16 of 27 shots from the field, also had nine rebounds and six assists. Jaylon Tyson added 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting and a team-high 11 rebounds. Evan Mobley and DeAndre Hunter each scored 13 for the Cavs.

Pascal Siakam had 26 points for Indiana, and Andrew Nembhard scored 21.

Garrison Mathews, who signed a second 10-day contract Monday with the Pacers, added 15 points — hitting all three of his attempts from 3-point range. Jay Huff also scored 15.

The Cavaliers shot 51% from the field while the Pacers shot 49%. Cleveland had a 48-36 rebounding edge. Indiana had 14 turnovers, six more than Cleveland.

MAGIC 125, BULLS 120

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Desmond Bane scored 18 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, helping Orlando beat Chicago.

Bane made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:23 left, sparking an 8-0 run for the Magic. He also capped the decisive sequence with a foul shot that made it 117-111 with 2:11 to go.

Bane was 12 for 17 from the field. He also had six rebounds and five assists.

Franz Wagner scored 25 points for Orlando, and reserve Anthony Black had 22 points and nine rebounds. The Magic won for the sixth time in seven games.

Josh Giddey had 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Chicago in its fourth consecutive loss. Matas Buzelis scored 21 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

MAVERICKS 131, NUGGETS 121

DENVER (AP) — Anthony Davis scored a season-high 32 points in his second game back from injury, and Dallas beat Denver.

Rookie Ryan Nembhard had 28 points and 10 assist, both career bests, to help Dallas win consecutive games for the first time this season. Cooper Flagg added 24 points for Dallas, which hit 16 of 31 shots from 3-point range.

The loss was the fourth straight at home for Denver, three of them against teams without winning records. It also spoiled a career night for Spencer Jones, who had 28 points, and Nikola Jokic’s 11th triple-double of the season. He finished with 29 points, a season-high 20 rebounds and 13 assists.

The already short-handed Nuggets played the fourth quarter without Jamal Murray, who was slow going to the locker room at halftime. He went to the floor in the first minute of the third quarter, hung back at the defensive end and then walked gingerly to the locker room but returned a few minutes later.

JAZZ 133, ROCKETS 125

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points and Keyonte George added 28 as Utah outlasted Houston.

Kevin Durant, off target much of the game, scored 16 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter for Houston. Alperin Sengun had 31 points and tied a career high with 14 assists. Amen Thompson added 23 points for the Rockets (13-5), who had won five straight on the road.

Sengun’s contested layup pulled the Rockets to 126-123 with 52.7 seconds remaining, but George hit 5 of 6 free throws and added a steal down the stretch to seal the win.

The teams played Sunday night in Utah and the Rockets rolled to a 129-101 victory. This one was quite the contrast as the Jazz led almost all game.

George, who went scoreless with eight turnovers Sunday, shot 8 for 14 from the field and handed out eight assists.

Jusuf Nurkic had a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds before fouling out, and Ace Bailey added 13 points as Utah (6-13) improved to 6-6 at home.

SUNS 125, LAKERS 108

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dillon Brooks scored 33 points, Collin Gillespie added 16 of his career-high 28 in the fourth quarter, and Phoenix emphatically snapped Los Angeles’ seven-game winning streak with a victory.

Devin Booker scored 11 points before leaving with two minutes left in the first quarter with a right groin injury, yet the Suns improbably played a remarkable game in their leading scorer’s absence.

Gillespie hit a career-best eight 3-pointers for Phoenix, which had lost three of four. The Suns forced 22 Lakers turnovers and streaked to a 21-point lead in the third quarter, blowing out Los Angeles despite Luka Doncic’s 38 points.

Austin Reaves added 16 points for the Lakers, who were playing their third home game in four nights. Los Angeles was mostly listless after Doncic scored 20 points in yet another phenomenal first quarter.