Articles by Agence France-Presse - Afp

Sports

Cunningham’s 46-point triple-double sparks Pistons past Wizards

Cade Cunningham delivered a monster triple-double, Daniss Jenkins buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and Javonte Green’s thunderous overtime dunk sealed Detroit’s 137-135 win over Washington on Monday night, extending the Pistons’ winning streak to seven games. In a surprisingly tense finish, the NBA’s second-best team narrowly escaped against a struggling Wizards squad that fell to a league-worst 1-10 with its ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We weren’t going to let anything stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham powered the victory with a career-high 46 points on 14-of-45 shooting, going 16-of-18 from the line while adding 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two blocks as Detroit improved to 9-2. “He’s the one who’s going to lead this team in whatever we do,” Detroit’s Jalen Duren said of Cunningham. “To see him fight through and be the great player he is gave us confidence.” Jenkins came off the bench for a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds, while Duren added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons. C.J. McCollum led Washington with 42 points and hit a floater with 14 seconds left to give the Wizards a 126-121 lead. But Jenkins, who hadn’t played in three games, sank a 3-pointer with three seconds left and, after a Kyshawn George free throw for Washington, hit another 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at 127 and force overtime. “I know what I’m capable of. I just had to believe in myself and trust my work,” Jenkins said. Added Duren: “He never shies away from the moment. He’s going to be a great player in this league, and that showed tonight.” In overtime, Duncan Robinson’s 3-pointer gave Detroit the lead, and Green’s dunk made it 136-133 with 25 seconds remaining. George added a layup for the Wizards before Duren sank a free throw to create the final margin. McCollum missed two 3-point attempts in the closing seconds. In another overtime thriller, Norman Powell scored 33 points and Andrew Wiggins added 23, including the winning dunk at the buzzer, to lift Miami over Cleveland 140-138. The loss snapped the Cavaliers’ four-game winning streak, leaving both teams at 7-4. Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s jumper with 7.1 seconds left forced overtime at 128-all. Powell sank two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining for a 138-135 Miami edge, but Donovan Mitchell, who led the Cavs with 28 points, hit a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to tie it again. Miami prevailed at the buzzer when Wiggins converted an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Nikola Jovic. Another tense finish came in Orlando, where Desmond Bane’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Magic a 115-112 victory over Portland. Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 28 points, while Bane added 22 after missing his first five 3-point attempts before hitting the game-winner. Wemby sparks Spurs Victor Wembanyama delivered a dominant performance with 38 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and five assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 121-117 win at Chicago. The French rookie shot 11-of-19 from the field, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range, and was perfect on 10 free throws. Luka Doncic scored 38 points with seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past Charlotte 121-111. Austin Reaves added 24 points, and Rui Hachimura had 21 for the Lakers. Czech reserve guard Vit Krejci scored a career-high 28 points, hitting 9-of-13 shots — including 8-of-10 from beyond the arc — to lead the Atlanta Hawks over the Los Angeles Clippers 105-102. James Harden matched a club record with his seventh triple-double for the Clippers, finishing with 35 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but Los Angeles’ losing streak reached five games. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points with eight rebounds and six assists to lead Milwaukee past Dallas 116-114. Grayson Allen scored 42 points, hitting 12-of-17 from the floor and 10-of-15 from 3-point range, as host Phoenix defeated New Orleans 121-98. Anthony Edwards scored 35 points and Julius Randle added 27 to power Minnesota’s 120-113 victory at Utah.