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NHL (National Hockey League)

The Bucks dominate the Pistons, completing their NBA Cup group stage with a perfect record

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and made eight assists, helping the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 128-107 on Tuesday night to move forward in the NBA in-season tournament.

Damian Lillard added 27 points and five assists, with the Bucks winning all four of their games in East Group B, securing a spot in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup.

The Bucks also continued their strong performance against the Pistons, having won 11 straight games against them and 23 of the last 24.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 16 points, Bobby Portis and Taurean Prince each contributed 14, and AJ Green added 11. The Bucks made 23 of 41 three-point attempts in the game.

Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 23 points and six assists. Tobias Harris contributed 16 points and five rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points, and Jalen Duren added 11 points and six rebounds. Detroit had been undefeated in group play before this game.

Damian Lillard (NBA)

Lillard scored 12 points in the first quarter, helping the Bucks take a 36-31 lead. Lillard’s layup at 8:05 in the second quarter increased Milwaukee’s lead to 50-38.

After Detroit cut the lead to six points, the Bucks finished the first half with a 17-4 run, leading 78-59. Prince scored eight points during this run, including two 3-pointers, while the Pistons committed five turnovers.

Milwaukee hit 15 out of 21 three-pointers in the first half. Lillard had 18 points, and three of his teammates scored 11 each. Harris led Detroit with 13 points in the first half.

Lillard started the second half by scoring the first four points, with a 3-pointer and a technical free throw.

When Lillard made another 3-pointer with 7:08 left in the third quarter, the Bucks’ lead grew to 97-72. The Bucks hit the 100-point mark when Prince made another three-pointer in the middle of the third.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bucks led by 22 points, with the score at 110-88.

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NBA (Basketball)

76ers secure uncommon victory, bounce back from previous home defeat to Pistons

Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points and had six assists as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Detroit Pistons 111-96 on Saturday night.

KJ Martin contributed 19 points, six rebounds, and three blocks, while Ricky Council IV added 17 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. also scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Paul George, who had missed the previous three games due to a left knee bone bruise, scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out five assists.

Both teams were missing key players. Sixers’ star Joel Embiid missed his fourth straight game because of a left knee injury and personal reasons. Pistons’ top scorer Cade Cunningham also sat out due to a hip injury.

Detroit had a big win against Indiana the night before, beating them 130-106. Embiid’s replacement, Andre Drummond, left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury.

The Sixers got revenge for their earlier 105-95 loss to Detroit at home. This was only their fourth win of the season, having lost seven of their last eight games.

Tyrese Maxey dives past the defenders in the 1st half

Malik Beasley led the Pistons with 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Jaden Ivey scored 15 points. Marcus Sasser and Wendell Moore Jr. added 12 and 11 points off the bench.

Philadelphia shot 56 percent in the first quarter, taking a 37-20 lead. Detroit fought back in the second quarter, narrowing the gap to 57-52 at halftime. Beasley had 14 points, and Ivey contributed 12.

Council led the Sixers in the first half with 13 points.

Philadelphia regained a double-digit lead early in the third quarter. Maxey scored 10 points in the first three minutes, and Martin’s dunk made it 69-55, forcing Detroit to call a timeout.

Back-to-back dunks by Martin and Guerschon Yabusele increased the lead to 77-60. Oubre’s basket with 3:52 left in the quarter stretched the lead to 20 points, and they led 89-69 at the end of the third.

Detroit never made a comeback in the fourth quarter.

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NBA (Basketball)

Cade Cunningham makes his return, leading the Pistons to an easy victory over the Pacers

Cade Cunningham returned from an injury to score 24 points, helping the Detroit Pistons stay undefeated in the NBA Cup and officially eliminating the defending runner-up with a 130-106 road win against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

Malik Beasley led Detroit with 25 points, while Jaden Ivey added 23 points and Tobias Harris contributed 16. The Pistons will play the Milwaukee Bucks in a matchup of 3-0 teams on Tuesday night, with the East Group B title at stake.

For the Pacers, Pascal Siakam scored 21 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 19. The Pacers trailed by as much as 12 points in the first quarter and could not catch up, suffering their third consecutive loss in the NBA Cup.

The Pistons shot 57.8% from the field and 47.4% from three-point range. They built a 15-point lead in the second quarter and extended it to 21 points in the third before coasting to their second win in the last six games.

Cade Cunningham (NBA)

Cunningham, who missed three games due to a strained left hip, also recorded 11 assists, marking his sixth straight double-double. He made 10 of 19 shots and hit four of his six three-pointers.

Beasley was even more efficient off the bench, making 10 of 14 shots and connecting on five three-pointers. Detroit outscored Indiana 54-36 from beyond the arc.

Jalen Duren also had a double-double, scoring 14 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and blocking four shots. Tim Hardaway Jr. was the fifth Pistons starter to reach double digits, finishing with 10 points.

The 130 points scored by Detroit was a season-high.

For the Pacers, Ben Mathurin scored 16 points, T.J. McConnell had 12 points, and Jarace Walker added 10 points, along with five steals. Myles Turner led Indiana in rebounds with 10, while Haliburton also had five assists along with his 19 points.

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NBA (Basketball)

Grizzlies and Pistons both showing improvement a year after tough seasons

Neither the Detroit Pistons nor the Memphis Grizzlies had the season they hoped for last year. But both teams have shown improvement and given their fans hope ahead of their game on Wednesday in Detroit.

The Pistons had a rough year with a franchise-worst 14-68 record, including a single-season NBA record of 28 straight losses. Under new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit has already won eight games this season, a total they didn’t reach until February 8th last year.

The Grizzlies, who made the playoffs three years in a row, lost 55 games last year, mostly because superstar Ja Morant played only nine games due to a suspension and a season-ending shoulder injury. This season, Memphis has bounced back and currently holds the fifth-best record in the Western Conference.

The Pistons come into this game after a 102-100 win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday, thanks to a buzzer-beating mid-range shot from Jaden Ivey. Ivey led Detroit with 25 points and eight assists, and the Pistons outscored the Raptors 30-20 in the fourth quarter.

“When (Jaden) has the ball in his hands in space, there aren’t too many guys who can stay in front of him in the league. I don’t care who it is, or how good you are defensively,” Bickerstaff said. “I thought he did a great job, obviously, getting to that spot. Those are shots that he works on.”

Ivey is averaging 18.4 points per game, which is second on the team behind Cade Cunningham’s 23.5 points per game.

Ja Morant celebrates a three pointer

Memphis, which has won three straight games, is aiming for its longest win streak of the season. On Monday, the Grizzlies won 123-98 against the Portland Trail Blazers, never trailing in the game. Morant, who had missed eight games due to a hip injury, returned with a strong performance, scoring 22 points and adding 11 assists in just 23 minutes of play.

“(Ja) worked his tail off throughout the return to play process,” said Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins. “He missed being out there, but even his engagement when he’s out is great. You all don’t get to see the work that he’s putting in, but this past week was some of the best work I’d seen from him. … He loves the game. He put in the work and this is no shock to see the impact he made in his first game back.”

Morant is averaging 20.8 points per game in nine games this season. Jaren Jackson Jr. leads the team with 22.8 points per game, and he added 21 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in the win over Portland.

The Grizzlies also got a big contribution from Santi Aldama, who scored 13 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds off the bench. Aldama is averaging career-highs of 12.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

“With Santi, I just love the effort,” Jenkins said. “That’s something that we’re challenging him with every single day. He had seven offensive rebounds (against Portland), and that’s huge. That’s an instinctual part of his game that aids us when we can create second-chance opportunities.”

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NBA (Basketball)

Jaden Ivey leads Pistons to a buzzer-beating victory over the Raptors

Jaden Ivey made a floater along the baseline just as the game ended, giving the Detroit Pistons a 102-100 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

Ivey finished the game with 25 points and eight assists, helping the Pistons break their three-game losing streak. Malik Beasley scored 14 points, and Jalen Duren contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds. Tobias Harris added 12 points, and Tim Hardaway Jr. chipped in 10. Ausar Thompson, who was cleared to play after recovering from a blood clotting issue, made his season debut, scoring five points and recording four assists off the bench.

Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 31 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists. RJ Barrett scored 17 points, and Chris Boucher added 10.

Detroit’s star player, Cade Cunningham, missed his second consecutive game due to a hip injury, while Toronto guard Gradey Dick was sidelined with a left calf injury.

Cade Cunningham leaps to complete the basket

Beasley had a strong start, scoring nine points in the first six minutes as the Pistons took a 21-7 lead. The Raptors closed the gap, ending the first quarter down 29-22.

Barnes hit three straight 3-pointers in the second quarter, putting Toronto ahead 40-35 with 6:29 remaining. The Pistons fought back and tied the game 48-48 at halftime. Barnes scored 20 points in the first half, while Beasley and Harris both had 11 for Detroit.

The game stayed close throughout the third quarter, but the Raptors finished with an 8-1 run, including two 3-pointers from Jamal Shead, to take an 80-72 lead into the final period.

Detroit opened the fourth quarter with the first four points. Isaiah Stewart made two free throws with 6:37 left to bring the Pistons within one point, 86-85.

The game stayed tight, with Hardaway hitting a 3-pointer with 3:01 remaining to tie the score at 93. Thompson then gave Detroit a 96-95 lead with a layup, but Barrett responded with a 3-pointer from Barnes. Ivey tied the game again with a layup at 1:07 left.

Stewart’s dunk was matched by a Barnes layup with 22.9 seconds left. After a timeout, Detroit ran down the clock before Ivey made his game-winning shot.