Cade Cunningham scored 40 points to lead the Detroit Pistons, who withstood a career-high 53 points by Anthony Edwards to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105 on Saturday.
Edwards, who had voiced frustration after averaging just 16.3 points over the last three games in the face of strong double team defense, found plenty of ways to score.
He connected on 16 of his 31 shots from the field, including 10 of 15 from three-point range, and made 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts.
But he had little scoring support and the Timberwolves trailed virtually all the way against a Pistons team powered by Cunningham, who notched his season high in points and added six rebounds and nine assists.
Unlike Edwards, Cunningham had plenty of support. Malik Beasley added 23 points off the bench for the Pistons, Tobias Harris scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Ausar Thompson finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.
“The effort from the beginning of the game to the end I thought was phenomenal,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of the team performance.
Beasley said the victory was the most important thing.
“At the end of the day we won,” Beasley said in an on-court interview. “He can have 100 points for all I care, we got a ‘W'”.
In Brooklyn, Joel Embiid scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to power the Philadelphia 76ers in a 123-94 victory over the short-handed Nets.
The Cameroon-born big man had been listed as questionable to play with a left foot sprain but scored 15 of the 76ers’ 29 first-quarter points in a dominant display.
Tyrese Maxey added 18 points while Paul George and Caleb Martin scored 17 apiece for the Sixers, who led by 64-47 at halftime.
Ziaire Williams scored 19 points to lead the Nets, who were without injured Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson and Ben Simmons.
The Portland Trail Blazers, led by 28 points from Anfernee Simons, snatched a 105-102 victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Simons came through in the clutch, converting a three-point play with 23.5 seconds left to put the Trail Blazers up by one.
After former Blazer Damian Lillard turned the ball over Simons made a pair of free-throws with 5.4 to play to seal the win.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Lillard scored 16 but missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final second.
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