Duren powers the Pistons past the Wizards 117-95 in their first game without Cunningham

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jalen Duren had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Detroit never trailed in a 117-95 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night, the Pistons’ first game since All-Star guard Cade Cunningham was ruled out for at least two weeks with a collapsed left lung.

Duren got his 37th double-double in just 25 minutes, two nights after scoring a career-high 36 points for Eastern Conference-leading Detroit in their 130-117 win over Washington.

Paul Reed added 17 points, while Duncan Robinson, Caris LeVert and Kevin Huerter each had 14 for the Pistons.

Detroit outrebounded Washington 55-33 and led 66-26 in points in the paint.

Tristan Vukcevic scored 21 for the Wizards, who lost their season worst-tying 14th consecutive game. With the NBA’s second-worst record at 16-53, Washington is two games from matching a franchise-record slide of 16 losses, most recently in March 2024.

The Pistons outscored the Wizards 35-14 in the first quarter and extended that advantage to 25 points early in the second.

Washington closed within six multiple times in the second and third quarters, after getting back in the game with a 20-2 run that included a seven-point possession.

Jaden Hardy sank a 3-pointer, Vukcevic hit a free throw following Paul Reed’s flagrant foul during Hardy’s shot, and then Vukcevic sank a 3-pointer from the top of the arc after Washington’s inbound.

Up next

Pistons: Host Golden State on Friday.

Wizards: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba