Cade Cunningham had 29 points and 10 assists as the host Detroit Pistons held off the Denver Nuggets 124-121 on Tuesday night.
Duncan Robinson scored 20 points and Jalen Duren supplied 19 points and 13 rebounds in a game the Pistons never trailed. Detroit was coming off a 53-point victory over Brooklyn on Sunday, the largest margin in franchise history.
Tobias Harris contributed 11 points and six rebounds, including a key 3-pointer late. Isaiah Stewart chipped in 11 points with six rebounds, while Ausar Thompson had 10 points and six rebounds.
Jamal Murray led Denver with 32 points and eight assists. Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Peyton Watson had 17 points and Julian Strawther added 15.
Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points with 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, but the Pistons clinched the two-game season series. They won in Denver 109-107 a week earlier.
During a chippy first half, the Pistons pulled away to a 69-50 halftime lead. There were five technicals and a flagrant foul assessed during the first two quarters.
Cunningham led the way with 17 points and seven assists and backcourt partner Robinson tossed in 14 points. Murray led the Nuggets with 14 points and five assists.
The Pistons finished the half on a 10-0 run. Cunningham assisted on a Thompson basket, then drilled a 3-pointer. A steal and fast break dunk by Thompson, followed by another Cunningham 3-pointer, closed out the half.
The lead increased to 20 when Thompson made a layup two minutes into the third quarter. Late in the quarter, Denver had a 7-0 spurt — capped by a Murray layup — to pull within 11. Detroit’s lead was 93-80 heading into the fourth.
Jokic hit a 3-pointer to cut the Pistons’ lead to 98-89. After the Nuggets pulled within eight, Robinson hit a 3-pointer with 4:10 left.
The Nuggets refused to fold, as a 9-0 surge capped by a Murray 3-pointer cut Detroit’s advantage to 112-110. Harris answered with a 3-pointer to give the Pistons some breathing room. The Nuggets never got closer than three points the rest of the way.
