MIAMI (AP) — Cade Cunningham banked in a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining, giving the Detroit Pistons a 116-113 win over Miami on Wednesday night and sending the Heat to their ninth consecutive loss.

Cunningham had his ninth triple-double of the season — 25 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Pistons, who trailed for most of the second half and never led by more than two until the final second.

Bam Adebayo finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Heat, who are stuck in their longest losing streak since an 11-game slide during the 2007-08 season.

Miami was ahead 93-88 going into the fourth quarter and led by eight in the final period. The Heat lost for the NBA-leading 12th time this season when holding a lead at any point in the fourth.

Takeaways

Pistons: How times have changed. Detroit was a 5-point favorite going into the game according to BetMGM Sportsbook — ending a streak of 20 consecutive Heat-Pistons games since February 2019 in which Miami was favored. Detroit hadn’t been such a big favorite over Miami since it was a 6.5-point pick on Jan. 1, 2017.

Heat: Tyler Herro had 29 points for Miami, and the Heat outscored the Pistons by eight points in the 37 minutes he was on the floor. But the Heat got outrebounded 47-37 and gave up 70 paint points.

Key moment

Cunningham had Detroit’s final two baskets — both 3-pointers in the final 57 seconds.

Key stat

Cunningham is the fourth player with two triple-doubles against Miami in a season, joining James Harden (2016-17), Domantas Sabonis (2023-24) and Nikola Jokic (this season).

Up next

Detroit goes to Dallas on Friday, before playing seven of its final 11 games at home. Miami plays the second game of its five-game homestand Friday against Houston.

— By TIM REYNOLDS, Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 24 points and eight assists, and the Detroit Pistons routed the New Orleans Pelicans 127-81 on Monday night.

Simone Fontecchio scored 23 points for Detroit, which had dropped four of six.

Zion Williamson had 30 points for New Orleans, and Yves Missi finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Williamson also grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots.

The Pelicans lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Cunningham scored 17 points to help Detroit to a 63-32 halftime lead. Fontecchio had 18 points in the second half.

Takeaways

Pistons: Fontecchio delivered an efficient performance in a reserve role. He went 5 for 5 from beyond the arc and 9 for 10 from the field overall. He also grabbed seven rebounds in 21 1/2 minutes.

Pelicans: It was a bad shooting night in a variety of ways. The Pelicans shot 32.6% from the field, including a 5-for-32 from 3-point range. They went 20 for 30 at the free-throw line.

Key moment

The Pistons grabbed control with a 24-5 run that began in the first quarter and carried over into the second. Dennis Schroder’s driving layup made it 41-14 with 10:21 left in the first half.

Key stat

Led by Fontecchio and Jalen Duren, the Pistons had a 50-39 rebounding advantage.

Next up

The Pistons visit the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Next up for the Pelicans is two straight games at the Minnesota Timberwolves, beginning on Wednesday night.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

DETROIT (AP) — Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff blasted the officials after Detroit was called for five technical fouls in the third quarter of a 113-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

During one 48-second stretch, Cade Cunningham picked up two technicals and was ejected and Dennis Schroder was also hit with a technical. Both players were assessed the fouls for arguing with the officials.

“I’m disgusted by the way that game was officiated,” Bickerstaff said. “The level of disrespect was above and beyond. They have a guy fall down and trip on his own teammate’s foot, they review us for a hostile act. They throw an elbow to our chest and neck area, I ask to at least take a look at it (on video). … No one would take a look at it.

“The disrespect has gone far enough, and I’m not going to allow our guys to be treated the way they were tonight.”

Crew chief Brian Forte was asked by the pool reporter after the game about the technical fouls on Cunningham.

“Cunningham was given his first technical foul for disrespectfully addressing an official with profanity,” Forte said. “After the free throw for the first technical was shot, Cade continued to use profanity toward the official and received his second technical foul and was ejected.”

As for Schroder, Forte said he “was given a technical foul for continuous complaining after Detroit was given a team warning in the second period.”

By BILL TROCCHI
The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Cade Cunningham had 38 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons extended their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 148-143 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night.

Malik Beasley scored 24 points, shooting 6 of 10 from 3-point range.

The Pistons shot a season-best 59.1% from the field en route to a season high in points. They were 20 for 40 from 3-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points and Dennis Schroder added 16 off the bench.

Trae Young had 38 points and 13 assists for the Hawks, who lost their third straight. Georges Niang scored 27 points and tied a career high with seven 3-pointers.

Cunningham had his big night while being guarded primarily by Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. Daniels had four steals to give him an NBA-best 156 for the season, but Cunningham dominated so thoroughly in the first half that the Hawks double-teamed him almost every time he touched the ball — including in the backcourt — after the break.

Takeaways

Pistons: The Pistons are sixth in the Eastern Conference and continue to march toward their first playoff berth since 2019.

Hawks: The Hawks couldn’t get enough stops and couldn’t capitalize on an 11-attempt advantage at the free-throw line.

Key moment

Schroder hit a driving layup while getting fouled with 33 seconds left. His free throw gave the Pistons a 142-140 lead after an 11-2 Hawks run put them in front.

Key stat

Cunningham had 29 points and 10 assists at halftime, the first time in his career he had a double-double at the break.

Up next

The Hawks wrap up a three-game homestand on Monday when the face Miami. The Pistons face the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday in the first of four straight home games.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama went to All-Star weekend in Indianapolis last year as one of the featured attractions. The San Antonio star was at the league’s Tech Summit, plus played in the Rising Stars event and was a participant in the Skills Challenge.

He left all that with a clear goal.

“Next year, hopefully, the big game,” Wembanyama said.

Next year is here. The big game — or games, perhaps — await.

Wembanyama, to no one’s surprise, is a first-time All-Star who’ll compete in the NBA’s new All-Star mini-tournament on Sunday in San Francisco. He’ll have these seven players for teammates: Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Trae Young and another first-timer — Houston’s Alperen Sengun.

Wembanyama’s selection almost seemed like a formality. The league’s reigning rookie of the year is already a global name; the NBA says Wembanyama content on social media is among the most viewed of all players and his jersey ranks No. 5 on the league’s worldwide sales list.

“I’ve been talking to a few people about a moment he had when he was in New York,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “He played the Knicks on Christmas Day and then he played the Brooklyn Nets a few days later, so he spent some time in New York, and Victor, who plays chess, went down to a famous park in New York City, Washington Square Park, and brought his chess board and just began playing a few games, and within a few days, something like 100 million people had seen that on social media.

“So, it just speaks to the popularity of Victor and the dramatic interest we’re seeing in players’ lifestyles and their interests and everything they enjoy doing. That was remarkable.”

There are six All-Star rookies in this year’s event: Wembanyama, Sengun, Miami’s Tyler Herro, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams. Of that group, Wembanyama is the youngest (just turned 21), the tallest (officially 7-foot-3) and will surely be the one with the most eyeballs on him in San Francisco this weekend.

“I think that was one of the most active days that we’ve had in our group chat since the summer when Vic made the All-Star Game,” Spurs forward Harrison Barnes said. “I think it was really just a testament to the person that he is. Obviously, he works extremely hard. He gets so much attention, and he always tries to put it back on the team, make it more about the team and less about him.”

Of the six All-Star rookies, Herro is the oldest and the one who’s been in the NBA the longest. He’s averaging 23.5 points this season.

“Man, I’m truly proud of him because there has been a lot of media that’s thrown that man’s name in the mud,” Heat captain Bam Adebayo said. “Thrown his name in trade rumors, y’all said he’s not good enough, he can’t do this, he can’t do that, all the way to down to somebody’s wingspan. It’s a testament to him.”

For Williams, the All-Star trip is a homecoming of sorts. The Thunder guard played his college basketball at Santa Clara, about an hour from Chase Center — where he’ll play on Sunday night.

“What am I most excited about? Honestly, I haven’t seen my parents in a minute, so that’ll be cool to see them out there,” Williams said. “I’m going to be down the street from my school basically, so I think that’s going to be cool. I’ll be able to see some people I haven’t seen in a while.”

Cunningham is leading one of the NBA surprise stories this season: The Pistons, who were awful a year ago, are squarely in the playoff mix right now and his 25.4 points per game are obviously a big reason why that’s happening.

“It’s a great feeling. It’s hard to put words on it,” Cunningham said. “It’s been a lot of work, a lot of wins, losses, lessons, all that stuff that’s led up to this point. I’m just thankful for the moment.”

Sengun is part of another turnaround in Houston; the Rockets made a push that fell short of the playoffs last year, but now are in position to even have home-court advantage in Round 1 of what will surely be a loaded postseason in the Western Conference.

“Thank you to my team, my country, the city of Houston and all the fans for believing in me,” Sengun said. “This is just the beginning.”

And for Mobley, the All-Star nod shows that people still notice defense and rebounding in the NBA. He’s one of the leaders of a Cleveland team that goes into the break leading the Eastern Conference and is right there with Oklahoma City for the best record in the NBA.

“I worked real hard to get to this point,” Mobley said. “Hopefully more to come.”

By TIM REYNOLDS, Associated Press Basketball Writer

Red Auerbach once got ejected from an All-Star Game for arguing a call. Rick Barry and Bob Cousy each fouled out of All-Star Games twice, the only players who can say that. Dwyane Wade was whistled for the first flagrant All-Star foul after breaking Kobe Bryant’s nose.

As the story goes, Wade called Bryant not long after that 2012 game and attempted to apologize. Turned out, there was no need. Wade’s recollection of what Bryant said? “Bro, I love it,” Wade said in a conversation with Kevin Garnett, a clip that has been a social media standard ever since.

The NBA doesn’t want coaches to get kicked out, anyone to get into foul trouble or anyone getting hurt. But they’ve asked, begged and pleaded for years with players in an effort to get the All-Star Game get taken more seriously. And the latest solution is a radical one: a mini-tournament.

Welcome to an All-Star format like none other: three games, no clock, first team to 40 points wins, eight-man rosters, and there’s a reasonable chance that the team leaving San Francisco on Sunday as winners will have captured that title without having a single All-Star on its roster.

“We went back to the drawing board,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.

Here’s the big question going into Sunday: Will it work?

To be fair, there were skeptics when Silver added a play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff spots in the Eastern and Western Conferences; by all accounts, the play-in has been a smashing success. There were skeptics when Silver added an in-season tournament now called the NBA Cup; some players say they still don’t totally understand the format, but the first two Cup final four weekends in Las Vegas have been big hits as well.

Now, this. The NBA thinks players don’t want to go to a 48-minute All-Star Game and play hard for a full game. Perfectly understandable. The proposed solution: short games, where nobody will have to play for long and there’s little room for error since only 40 points are needed to win.

Kevin Durant’s first response? “I hate it. Absolutely hate it. Terrible,” the Phoenix star and 15-time All-Star said when the league announced the plan in December, though he quickly noted that his initial reaction could have been worded differently.

Perhaps he could have taken the route that perennial All-Star forward Anthony Davis, then of the Los Angeles Lakers and now of the Dallas Mavericks, took when he was asked in December what he thinks of the NBA’s new plan.

“I don’t really like it,” Davis said. “But we’ll see how it goes this year and see if they change it again or not.”

And it could change again, possibly as early as next year.

Some players want the traditional East vs. West format, although the league went back to that last year and it was a 211-186 game — all dunks and 3-pointers, pretty much — that broke records and forced the NBA to break the mold on the format.

The NBA tried a target score approach; no clock in the fourth quarter and have the teams chase a set total to ensure that the game ends on a made basket. Some years it worked, some years not so much. They tried having playing captains pick the teams; again, success was mixed.

Next up, the tournament. There is a prize pool of $1.8 million for the All-Star tournament. Each player on the All-Star champion team gets $125,000, each player on the runner-up team will get $50,000 and the players on the teams eliminated in the semifinals will each get $25,000.

“I don’t know if everyone understands how this is going to go,” said Miami’s Tyler Herro, who’ll make his All-Star debut this weekend. “But everyone will want to win.”

There are four teams in the tournament: three teams picked by Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley from the pool of 24 All-Stars, and the fourth will be the team that wins the Rising Stars event on Friday night. The Rising Stars players aren’t All-Stars. Some aren’t even in the NBA right now; there’s a G League team in that event. And the Rising Stars winner could win the All-Star Game — meaning, yes, guys who aren’t currently in the league could win the thing.

Whichever way it shakes out, it will be a massive deviation from last year — when the East and West each scored at least 42 points in every quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 points on his own last year; it’ll take only 40 for a team to win a game this year.

“Them trying to shake things up is expected and makes sense,” Oklahoma City All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to whether the players wanting to go at it, and I would love to see that. Love to be a part of that for sure, and hopefully it happens.”

Heat forward Kevin Love — who proudly says he took part in All-Star Games where players were competitive and even strategized in the locker rooms before games and at halftimes — doesn’t know when the All-Star Game changed.

He thinks it became part of the evolution within the game; more 3-pointers are shot than ever before and that, combined with everyone just treating it like an exhibition and not Game 7 of the NBA Finals, led to the defense-optional approach the league doesn’t want to see anymore.

“I’ll tell you if this will work,” Love said. “I’ll tell you on Sunday.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

All-Star weekend goes to San Francisco this year for the NBA’s annual midseason showcase.

There are three nights of on-court events, highlighted by the Rising Stars competition for first- and second-year players on Friday, the dunk and 3-point contest on Saturday and then the All-Star Game on Sunday.

It’s a new format for the All-Star Game this year. It’s now a mini-tournament with games going only to 40 points.

Here’s some of what to know about All-Star weekend:

Where to watch this weekend’s events?

Mostly TNT and truTV. Here’s the rundown (all times Eastern):

Friday — All-Star celebrity game, 7 p.m. (ESPN); Rising Stars competition, 9 p.m. (TNT, truTV)

Saturday — NBA All-Star practice, 2 p.m. (NBA TV); NBA HBCU Classic, 5 p.m. (truTV, NBA TV, Max and ESPN+); All-Star Saturday Night, 8 p.m. (TNT and truTV)

Sunday — NBA All-Star Game, 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max); NBA All-Star postgame (NBA TV).

Who are the All-Stars?

The All-Stars are split into three teams of eight players this year, drafted by TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. The rundown:

Chuck’s Global Stars: Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Houston’s Alperen Sengun, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Trae Young. (Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was supposed to play but cannot because of injury. Young replaced him for the game.)

Shaq’s OGs: Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving, Boston teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard and the Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden. (Dallas’ Anthony Davis was supposed to play but cannot because of injury. Irving replaced him for the game.)

Kenny’s Young Stars: Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, New York’s Jalen Brunson, Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, Cleveland teammates Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Miami’s Tyler Herro.

What’s the All-Star Game format?

The NBA has made the All-Star Game a mini-tournament this year, with four teams playing games to 40 points. There’s no clock (other than the shot clock) and nobody fouls out.

The fourth team in the tournament will be the one that wins the Rising Stars competition on Friday. For All-Star Game purposes, it will be called Candace’s Rising Stars, in honor of Candace Parker.

The semifinal matchups: Chuck’s Global Stars vs. Kenny’s Young Stars, Shaq’s OGs vs. Candace’s Rising Stars.

Who are the betting favorites?

According to BetMGM Sportsbook, Team Shaq is the All-Star favorite at +155, just ahead of Team Chuck (+165). Team Kenny is at +375 and Team Candace is at +650.

For the Skills Competition, it’s Team Cavs (Mitchell and Mobley) as the favorites. They’re at +200, just ahead of Team Spurs (Wembanyama and Chris Paul, +225), Team Warriors (Draymond Green and Moses Moody, +275) and Team Rooks (Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher and Washington’s Alex Sarr, +375).

And Lillard is favored to win his third consecutive 3-point contest, with odds of +375. Herro and Garland are both +500, tied as the second choice, just ahead of Buddy Hield and the Clippers’ Norman Powell (both +525).

What’s the recent All-Star news?

— Mac McClung is back in the dunk contest, looking for third consecutive title.

— Kevin Hart will be the on-court emcee for the All-Star Game.

— Trae Young Kyrie Irving picked as All-Star replacements for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis.

— Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t play at All-Star weekend.

— Damian Lillard, Victor Wembanyama among those in All-Star Saturday.

— How the new All-Star format works.

— LeBron picked for 21st All-Star Game, extending his NBA record.

Who are the officials?

Kevin Scott, Tre Maddox and Eric Dalen will be the officials for Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Jason Goldenberg, Mousa Dagher and Danielle Scott will work the Rising Stars event on Friday and the All-Star Saturday competitions.

Jenna Reneau, Biniam Maru and Cat Chang will be the officials for Friday’s celebrity game and Sunday’s G League Up Next game.

Who is performing at All-Star weekend?

DJ Cassidy, Too $hort, Saweetie, En Vogue and Raphael Saadiq will be among the featured performers on All-Star Sunday. For All-Star Saturday night, H.E.R. and LiAngelo Ball — the brother of NBA guards Lonzo Ball and LaMelo Ball — will be among the performers. And Bay Area rapper LaRussell will take the stage to perform an original song to introduce the Rising Stars on Friday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 19 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 112-102 on Sunday.

The triple-double was Cunningham’s eighth of the season, the third-highest total in franchise history. Grant Hill had 13 in 1996-97 and 10 in 1995-96.

Tobias Harris added 20 points for the Pistons, who never trailed, and Jalen Duren had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Miles Bridges scored 30 points for Charlotte, which has lost seven of eight. Seth Curry added 26.

The Pistons led 90-73 going into the fourth quarter, but the Hornets started the period with a 14-0 run.

Cunningham and Dennis Schroeder hit back-to-back jumpers to give Detroit a 97-90 lead with 6:33 left, and the Pistons pulled back away down the stretch.

Takeaways

Hornets: LaMelo Ball (ankle) and Nick Smith Jr. (back) were downgraded from questionable to out about an hour before tipoff. Moussa Diabate left the game early in the second quarter after being accidentally hit in the face by Isaiah Stewart under the basket.

Pistons: Schroeder, acquired at the trade deadline, made his Pistons debut, getting five points and three assists in 15 minutes as the backup point guard.

Key moment

The Pistons took control immediately after the opening tip, taking a 13-4 lead in the first five minutes on their way to a 39-15 edge after the first quarter. Harris (14) and Malik Beasley (11) outscored the Hornets by 10 points as Detroit tied a franchise record for the biggest first-quarter lead.

Key stat

Charlotte shot 30% from the floor and turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter.

Up next

The Hornets are back in action on Monday when they visit the Brooklyn Nets in the second of nine straight road games. The Pistons play in Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday.

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press