Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Cade Cunningham finished with 28 points as the Detroit Pistons shrugged off the suspensions of Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart to cruise past the Toronto Raptors 113-95 on Wednesday. Duren and Stewart were both handed multi-game suspensions for their part in a mass brawl during Monday’s stormy victory over the Charlotte Hornets. But the absence of the two centers had little effect on Detroit as they coasted to a wire-to-wire victory in Toronto.
Detroit’s balanced offense set up the win, with Paul Reed stepping into the void created by Duren and Stewart’s absence, scoring 22 points while Duncan Robinson added 13 and Tobias Harris 12. Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff singled out Reed for praise, saluting the 26-year-old’s readiness to slot into the starting line-up seamlessly. “Basketball is what he eats, sleeps, bleeds,” Bickerstaff said. “Every time he gets an opportunity it’s quick twitch and ready to go. I’ve never seen a guy who prepares himself every day like he’s gonna start and play 48 minutes.”
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The win leaves Detroit comfortably top of the Eastern Conference with a 40-13 record heading into the NBA All-Star break. The Boston Celtics are second in the East after their 124-105 defeat of the Chicago Bulls. The Celtics improved to 35-19 — 5.5 games back from the Pistons — thanks to 26 points off the bench from Payton Pritchard and 24 from Jaylen Brown.
The New York Knicks are snapping at Boston’s heels in third place after warming up for the break with a 138-89 drubbing of the Philadelphia 76ers. After a shock reverse against the lowly Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, the Knicks got back into their stride with a lopsided pummeling of the Sixers. The Knicks led by as many as 52 points at one stage in the fourth quarter as they sauntered to victory thanks to a blistering 26-point cameo off the bench from Jose Alvarado. Alvarado drained eight-of-13 three-pointers on his way to leading the scoring, with Mikal Bridges adding 22 points and Karl-Anthony Towns 21. Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 32 points.
The Cleveland Cavaliers stretched their winning streak to five games with a 138-113 drubbing of the Washington Wizards. Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points for the Cavs, who are fourth in the table on 34-21. In Minneapolis, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Julius Randle scored 41 points in a 133-109 defeat of the Portland Trail Blazers.
In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder maintained their lead at the top of the standings with an emphatic 136-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Jalen Williams led the scoring with 28 points for Oklahoma City, who were without the injured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The San Antonio Spurs remain Oklahoma City’s nearest rivals in the West, improving to 38-16 after recording their sixth straight win with a 126-113 defeat of the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. The Warriors led by 16 midway through the third quarter, but the game flipped as San Antonio outscored Golden State 32-19 in the fourth. De’Aaron Fox had 27 points and Victor Wembanyama 26 for the Spurs.
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