MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 29 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the Detroit Pistons capitalized on sizzling shooting to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 129-116 on Saturday night, Nov. 23, for their 12th straight victory.
Detroit’s Jaden Ivey played 15 minutes and scored 10 points in his first game since breaking his left fibula on Jan. 1. Tobias Harris scored 18 points while playing for the first time since Nov. 1 after dealing with a sprained right ankle.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a second straight game due to an adductor strain.
The Pistons are one victory away from matching the longest winning streak in franchise history. Detroit won 13 straight games in 1989-90 and 2003-04, and the Pistons went on to win the NBA title both seasons.
Detroit also ended a 13-game skid in this series by beating the Bucks for the first time since a 115-106 triumph at Milwaukee on Jan. 3, 2022. That had been tied for the second-longest active win streak by any one team against another.
The longest such active streak is owned by the Los Angeles Clippers, who beat the Charlotte Hornets for a 15th straight time Saturday as James Harden scored 55 points in a 131-116 game.
Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said during his pregame availability that Cunningham had brought up the Pistons’ lack of success against the Bucks to the rest of the team earlier in the day.
Jalen Duren had 19 points and Duncan Robinson 15 for Detroit, which shot 53.3% (16 of 30) from 3-point range and 62.8% (49 of 78) overall. Ryan Rollins had 24 and Bobby Portis added 18 for Milwaukee.
The Bucks have lost four straight to drop below .500 for the first time this season.
Detroit pulled ahead for good in the second quarter and led by as many as 29.
Meanwhile, Santi Aldama scored 20 points, including a left-handed driving shot that began a tiebreaking 6-0 run for Memphis in the final minute, and Cam Spencer added 15 of his 17 points off the bench in the second half as the Grizzlies beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-96.
Zach Edey had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for his first double-double in four games since returning from offseason ankle surgery for the Grizzlies (6-11), who have won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Klay Thompson scored a season-high 22 off the bench and matched a season best with six 3-pointers for the Mavericks (5-13), who split a home back-to-back and have yet to win consecutive games this season.
After Memphis’ Cedric Coward followed Aldama’s basket with a free throw with 27.6 seconds left, Thompson’s straightaway 3-pointer from 29 feet banged off the rim seconds later and was rebounded by Memphis’ Vince Williams Jr. Thompson and Williams had words early in the fourth quarter, resulting in technical fouls on both.
Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, had 12 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes after scoring a season-high 29 in Friday’s 118-113 win over New Orleans.
Klay Thompson scored a season-high 22 off the bench and matched a season best with six 3-pointers for the Mavericks (5-13), who split a home back-to-back and have yet to win consecutive games this season.
After Memphis’ Cedric Coward followed Aldama’s basket with a free throw with 27.6 seconds left, Thompson’s straightaway 3-pointer from 29 feet banged off the rim seconds later and was rebounded by Memphis’ Vince Williams Jr. Thompson and Williams had words early in the fourth quarter, resulting in technical fouls on both.
Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, had 12 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes after scoring a season-high 29 in Friday’s 118-113 win over New Orleans.
