Giannis Antekounmpo says he realized as a leader, he had to adapt his mindset against the Detroit Pistons, leading to his 59-point game.

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Pistons 127-120 in overtime on Wednesday, with Antetokounmpo the driving force as they bounced back from their last NBA defeat to the Boston Celtics.

His total was five back on his career-high points total in a single game, but was his ninth 50-point, 10-rebound game in his career, which puts him third on the NBA all-time list.

Antetokounmpo made 21 of 34 shots from the field and 16 of 17 free throws, while he also had 14 rebounds and seven assists.

He was one of three players alongside Victor Wembanyama and Karl-Anthony Towns to score at least 45 points on Wednesday, which is a tie for the most on a single day in NBA history.

"Coming into this game, I realized I have to be aggressive," Antetokounmpo said. "While I was doing that, it was not working. We were down by 15, 18.

"In the second half, I had to keep my aggressiveness but keep on moving the ball. Now, as a leader, you keep on going with that energy and mentality. Sometimes you've got to be able to do both."

Antetokounmpo had scored 22 of his team's first 24 points in the first quarter, with Bucks coach Doc Rivers unsure whether his point-scoring dominance was a good thing or not.

"It's funny how a coach thinks, though. We called a timeout and Giannis has 22 of our 24," said Rivers.

"This ain't good. I'm thinking the exact opposite. We've got to get somebody else involved in this.

"After the game, you realize how special this is. But during the game you're in a panic," he said.

Anthony Davis is unsure as to the extent of a foot injury he aggravated against the Detroit Pistons, but he knows the Los Angeles Lakers must find some consistency.

Davis scored 37 points on Monday but his efforts were not enough to prevent Los Angeles slipping to a 115-103 loss.

The Lakers are now 4-3 overall after winning their opening three games of the season.

To compound their frustration, Davis – who is averaging 32.6 points per game – aggravated a left foot issue in the final quarter.

"We're just two different teams right now," lamented Davis.

"One game, we're this team who showcased it can be one of the better teams in the league. Then the next, we're this team who -- I don't even know who we are. So, we just got to be better.

"We got to put a full 48 [minutes] together, and we can't continue to do this if we expect to do anything this season."

On his injury, Davis added: "I'll talk to my trainer and just kind of figure out what exactly is going on.

"I've been managing it since this summer, honestly, and my goal for every game is to be on the floor. And I just kind of landed directly on the spot that's been killing me. So, we'll figure it out."

LeBron James finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and was honest in his assessment of a potential lay-off for Davis.

"I don't play the 'if' game," James said.

"We'll go off what AD says and see how he feels over the next couple of days and go from there. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know [the impact] if AD's in or out. C'mon."

Reflecting on the latest defeat, Lakers coach JJ Redick simply said: "We're all disappointed."

J.B. Bickerstaff believes the Detroit Pistons are "getting better at everything" after bouncing back to beat the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

The Pistons suffered a heavy defeat to the New York Knicks on Friday but made it two wins from three with their 106-92 victory over the Nets after they lost their opening four games of the NBA season.

Detroit finished with six players on double figures, with Cade Cunningham leading the charge with 19 points. It was the second time this season they have had that many players score 13 points or more in a single game, after doing it just once last term.

And while their attack was impressive, they also held the Nets to just 15 points in the fourth quarter, showing a vast improvement to their defense.

Bickerstaff was impressed with how his team have grown already since the start of the season.

"The guys did a great job of bouncing back," Bickerstaff said. "The conversation around the group has been to be better than we were the other night.

"Every single night we step on the floor, we aim to improve. The guys, just from a grit standpoint, how hard they played and how they shared the ball, it was unbelievable.

"We're getting better at everything. I feel our guys have embraced the system. They're really competing on that end of the floor. Individually, everybody's taking the challenge.

"There are still small things systematically, we're going to continue to improve on things. I'm learning what guys are capable of, but guys' willingness to take the challenge has given us an opportunity to put ourselves in a position that now we have a foundation of that, and we can grow from there."

Malik Beasley, who was another to finish on double figures as he scored 18 points, including two critical 3-point shots, believes their more proactive approach to defending pushed them towards the win.

"We started the game physical," Beasley said. "Last game, New York came out and just got whatever they wanted to get to.

"We made a point today to be physical and if we get fouls called early, it is what it is. We need to be known for a grit team, the Bad Boys, that whole thing. We did that [on Sunday]."

The Pistons are in action again on Monday when they face the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The Detroit Pistons fired head coach Monty Williams on Wednesday after going an NBA-worst 14-68 in his first season on the sidelines.

Detroit gave Williams a six-year, $78.5million contract last June after he was fired by the Phoenix Suns following the 2022-23 season.

At the time, the deal was the richest ever for an NBA head coach.

Detroit, though, finished with the worst record in franchise history and set an NBA single-season record along the way when it lost 28 straight games after opening 2-1.

It’s been an eventful off-season for the Pistons, who hired New Orleans Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon as president of basketball operations and fired general manager Troy Weaver.

Detroit also had no luck in the NBA Draft lottery after being tied with the Washington Wizards for the best odds to secure the No. 1 overall pick at 14 per cent.

The Atlanta Hawks won the lottery despite having just a three per cent chance to win, and the Pistons fell back to the No. 5 selection.

Jaylen Brown scored 33 points to lead the NBA-leading Boston Celtics to their eighth straight victory, 129-102 over the short-handed Detroit Pistons on Friday.

Payton Pritchard had 20 points and Derrick White added 19 with 11 assists for Boston, which has won 18 of 20 games to continue cruising toward the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Leading scorer Jayson Tatum sat out to rest an ankle for the second time in five days.

James Wiseman scored a season-high 24 points for the Pistons, who have lost five in a row overall and the last nine meetings with the Celtics.

Detroit was missing its top post players in Jalen Duren (back), Stanley Umude (ankle), Simone Fontecchio (toe), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness).

Pelicans roll over Heat

CJ McCollum scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans exacted a measure of revenge on the Miami Heat with a 111-88 rout.

Jose Alvarado added 17 points and Trey Murphy had 14 with eight rebounds as the Pelicans had no trouble in the first meeting between the teams since four players were ejected in the most recent matchup in New Orleans last month.

Zion Williamson was limited to only four points in 25 minutes, but the Pelicans won their eighth in 10 games.

Jimmy Butler scored 17 points as the Heat dropped to 17-16 at home, the 19th-best mark in the league. Miami dropped four games behind Southeast Division-leading Orlando.

Thunder down reeling Raptors

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in his only regular-season trip to his native Canada and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 123-103.

Jalen Williams added 20 points and Kenrich Williams and Cason Wallace scored 12 apiece as the Thunder won their fourth straight and remained on top of the Western Conference.

Rookie Gradey Dick scored 21 points for the Raptors, who lost their ninth straight game. Toronto was without seven players, including five regular starters.

Zion Williamson scored 34 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-104 win over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers on Friday that tightened the race for the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.

The surging Pelicans moved within two games of Los Angeles for fourth place in the conference and improved to 14-5 since Jan. 31, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the best record in the West over that span. 

Los Angeles was dealt a third loss in four games despite 26 points from Paul George and 23 from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers played a second straight game without starting point guard James Harden due to a left shoulder strain.

Williamson recorded 16 of his points during a dominant third quarter in which he went 7 of 7 from the field. The star forward closed out the period with a layup that snapped an 80-80 tie and ignited a 12-3 run that put the Pelicans ahead for good.

Trey Murphy and Naji Marshall each had 3-pointers during the spurt, which Murphy capped with an alley-oop dunk that gave New Orleans a 92-83 lead with 10:24 remaining.

Leonard's hook shot with two minutes left brought the Clippers within 107-102, but Los Angeles came up empty on its next three possessions as New Orleans scored the next five points to put the game out of reach. 

The Clippers trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before putting together a 12-3 run that trimmed the Pelicans' lead to 65-63 with five minutes left in the period.

Heat handle Pistons to end four-game skid

Bam Adebayo recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Miami Heat end a four-game losing streak with a 108-95 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Terry Rozier scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half as Miami pulled away in the final two quarters to get back on track and remain 2 1/2 games behind first-place Orlando in the Southeast Division. The Magic also won on Friday, earning a 113-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

After Adebayo's floater in the closing seconds gave Miami a 56-54 lead at the half, the Heat dominated the final six minutes of the third quarter to stretch their advantage.

Miami broke things open with a 15-0 run, which began with six straight points from Rozier and ended with three consecutive 3-pointers by Duncan Robinson. The last of those baskets increased the margin to 83-65 with 2:29 to go in the third quarter.

The Heat maintained a double-digit cushion over the entire fourth quarter to end Detroit's modest two-game winning streak.

Simone Fontecchio led the Pistons, who own the NBA's second-worst record at 12-54, with 24 points. Jalen Duren compiled 15 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.

Jokic outduels Wembanyama, Nuggets top Spurs to stay hot

Nikola Jokić put up 31 points as the Denver Nuggets continued their strong recent stretch with a 117-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a game played in the Texas capital of Austin.

Jokic finished 13 of 19 from the field while adding seven rebounds and five assists to outshine Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, who was held to 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

Jamal Murray accumulated 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help Denver improve to 11-1 since the All-Star break. The defending NBA champions have won five straight games.

Jokic and the Nuggets imposed their will early on, as Denver closed out the first quarter on an 18-4 run to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the second. The two-time NBA MVP finished the period with 15 points.

The Spurs shot 60 per cent in the second quarter to close the gap to 58-49 at half-time, and got Denver's lead down to four when Zach Collins' jumper with 16.7 seconds left in the third quarter made the score 83-79.

Denver's Justin Holiday ended the third with a 3-pointer, however, and had another during a 9-1 run in the fourth that put the Nuggets up 101-84 with seven minutes to play.

The game drew a crowd of 16,223, the largest attended sporting event in the history of Austin's Moody Center.

Luka Doncic became the first NBA player to record six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles in a dominant showing against the Detroit Pistons that Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd lauded.

Doncic finished with 39 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, surpassing Russell Westbrook's record of five straight 30-point triple-doubles, as the Mavericks beat Detroit 142-124 on Saturday.

The Slovenian also extended his own record with a fifth straight 35-point triple-double as the Dallas star continues to run his own NBA MVP competition.

"That just shows what level he's playing on right now," coach Kidd said. "He knows he can score the ball, and he's also able to find his teammates, and lastly, he's able to rebound the ball."

Doncic was somewhat goaded by the Pistons fans, suggesting his ability is not as impressive as some think, but that noise did not bother the Dallas man or Kidd.

"Well, we know he doesn't suck," Kidd said. "I think we know he enjoys when people talk to him. If that's what sparked him, we would like for that to happen a lot more."

Doncic also became the fourth player with 10 35-point triple-doubles in a season, joining Westbrook, James Harden and Oscar Robertson.

Tim Hardaway Jr. hit three 3-pointers in the final two minutes or so of the third period, while Kyrie Irving added 21 points for Dallas, who have now won two in a row after a three-game losing streak.

"It's huge for us when [Hardaway] can come in and hit 3-pointers like that," Kidd said. "Not only did he make four, he had two chances at a four-point play."

Cade Cunningham was a rare bright spark for Detroit, making 33 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds. Simone Fontecchio added a career-high 27 points as the Pistons fell to a 10th defeat in 12.

Monty Williams slammed "the absolute worst call of the season" after the Detroit Pistons lost to the New York Knicks on Monday.

The Pistons lost 113-111 to the Knicks, in large part due to an obvious case of the officials missing a blatant foul with 8.5 seconds left, after Donte DiVincenzo barged into Ausar Thompson.

Referee James Williams subsequently admitted a mistake had been made.

And Williams was left seething.

"The absolute worst call of the season," Williams said.

"No call, and enough's enough. We've done it the right way. We've called the league. We've sent in clips. We're sick of hearing the same stuff over and over again.

"We had a chance to win the game, and a guy dove into Ausur's legs and there was a no-call. That's an abomination. You cannot miss that in an NBA game. Period. And I'm tired of talking about it. I'm tired of my guys asking, 'What more can we do, Coach?' That situation is Exhibit A to what we've been dealing with all season long, and enough's enough.

"You cannot dive into a guy's legs in a big-time game like that and there be a no-call," he continued. "It's ridiculous, and we're tired of it. We just want a fair game called. Period. And I've got nothing else to say. We want a fair game, and that was not fair."

The Pistons were also on the end of a controversial decision in their loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday.

"I'd say livid," said Cade Cunningham, who scored 32 points and added five rebounds and five assists.

"That's the word of the day: livid."

Explaining his attempt to win the ball, DiVincenzo said: "I went for the ball. I didn't look at the play. You turn the ball over, the ball is in front of you, and you go after the ball. Like I said, I respect everyone's opinion. I can't speak on it until I look at the film."

The controversy came a day after LeBron James and Darvin Ham questioned the officials after the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns.

Detroit sit bottom of the Eastern Conference, while the Knicks are in fourth.

Bam Adebayo compiled 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Miami Heat overcame the absence of several key players to record a 121-110 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday and extend their winning streak to four games.

Miami moved a half-game ahead of the Orlando Magic for first place in the Southeast Division despite missing two of its stars in Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, as well as starting point guard Terry Rozier. Herro and Rozier sat out due to injuries, while Butler was serving a one-game suspension for his role in an on-court altercation in the Heat's win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

Rookie Jaime Jaquez helped fill the void by producing 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting, and the Heat also got key contributions from reserves Kevin Love and Haywood Highsmith.

Love poured in 19 points in just 15 minutes, while Highsmith scored 15 first-half points to help Miami take a 65-62 lead into the break.

Jaquez then put up 13 points during a dominant third quarter in which the Heat outscored Sacramento by a 36-19 margin. Miami took the lead for good with a 10-2 run that snapped a 71-71 tie, then later scored the final 10 points of the period to build a commanding 101-81 advantage entering the fourth.

The Kings had a three-game winning streak snapped despite Domantas Sabonis registering his league-leading 21st triple-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.

Keegan Murray led Sacramento, which was coming off a 16-point road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, with 28 points. De'Aaron Fox finished with 27 in the loss.

Barnes' triple-double powers Raptors past Pacers

Scottie Barnes recorded his fourth triple-double of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 130-122 win over the weary Indiana Pacers.

Toronto also received big efforts from RJ Barrett and rookie Gradey Dick en route to its season-high third consecutive win. Barrett delivered 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting, while Dick had 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and finished 7 of 9 from the field while making all four of his 3-point attempts.

Playing for the second straight night, the Pacers had a three-game winning streak snapped despite Bennedict Mathurin matching a career-high with 34 points to go along with nine rebounds. Former Raptors All-Star Pascal Siakam had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his second meeting with his ex-team since being traded to Indiana on Jan. 17.

The Pacers got an off night from leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton, however, as the All-Star guard misfired on nine of 11 shot attempts while being held to nine points.

Indiana did manage to battle back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit, however, to tie the game at 102-102 with just over eight minutes left in the fourth.

The Raptors then regained control with a 13-2 run, which Dick started and finished with 3-pointers, to take a 115-104 lead with 6:21 remaining.

Indiana closed the gap to four points entering the final three minutes, but a jumper by Toronto's Gary Trent Jr. followed by a Barrett 3-pointer helped end any comeback hopes.

Hart's late basket lifts Knicks over Pistons

Josh Hart scored the go-ahead layup with 2.8 seconds left as the New York Knicks held off a determined upset bid from the Detroit Pistons and came away with a controversial 113-111 victory.

The Pistons fought back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to take a 111-110 lead on former Knick Quentin Grimes' layup with 37.3 seconds remaining. New York's Jalen Brunson misfired on a 3-point try on the ensuing possession, but Detroit's Ausar Thompson had the ball stolen away after colliding with the Knicks' Donte DiVincenzo to set up Hart's basket off a feed from Brunson.

Hart missed the free throw for a potential three-point play, but the Knicks collared the rebound and Hart was fouled again with 1.3 seconds left. He made 1 of 2 from the line to prevent a potentially damaging home loss to a Detroit team with an NBA-worst 8-49 record.

Game officials acknowledged afterward that a loose-ball foul should have been called on DiVincenzo during the collision that preceded Hart's basket.

Brunson finished with 35 points and 12 assists and Hart had 23 points and eight rebounds as the playoff-hopeful Knicks won for the second time in three outings following a four-game losing streak. DiVincenzo contributed 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Detroit was dealt a sixth straight loss despite Cade Cunningham's 32 points and eight assists and an 11-point, 16-rebound effort from Jalen Duren. 

The teams were facing one another for the first time since collaborating on a six-player trade on Feb. 8 that sent veterans Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to New York, with Grimes among the return pieces to the Pistons.

Grimes finished with 14 points while Bogdanovic recorded 13 points and six rebounds off the bench. 

Detroit Pistons coach Monty Williams was left unimpressed by the Phoenix Suns issuing a statement following Isaiah Stewart's arrest.

Pistons center Stewart was arrested after he punched Phoenix's Drew Eubanks before Wednesday's meeting between the Suns and Detroit.

Stewart, who was already out of the game due to an ankle injury, was issued with a citation and released, reported ESPN, citing Phoenix police.

Eubanks, meanwhile, helped the Suns win 116-100. The Phoenix center said the altercation with Stewart took place as he was coming into the arena, explaining an argument sparked before security intervened.

In a statement, the Suns said: "The attack on Drew Eubanks was unprovoked, and acts of violence such as this are unacceptable.

"We unequivocally support Drew, and will continue to work with local law enforcement and the NBA."

Williams, who was sacked by the Suns last season, questioned his former team, however.

"The thing is to get all of the information. The NBA will do an investigation," Williams said.

"For me to come here and make a statement would be a bit irresponsible. I know the Suns said it was unprovoked; I think that is irresponsible for sure. You really don't know.

"That did not need to happen. There is a time for the information to be gathered, and then you can make a statement."

A Pistons statement added: "We are in the process of gathering information about what happened and what provoked it, and responding to the NBA and local authorities."

Suns talisman Kevin Durant, who finished with 25 points, said: "Keep the game first. There's a lot of noise. 

"It's unfortunate what happened before the game, it's supposed to be a brotherhood. But I also understand, dudes get into stuff. We try to avoid that in this league, hopefully we can move on from it. We all support Drew."

Russell Westbrook is "so grateful" to be on the Los Angeles Clippers team after he tallied up 25,000 NBA points.

Westbrook became the fourth active player in the NBA, and the 25th player overall, to hit the 25,000 milestone when he nailed a running layup with 2:44 left during Friday's 136-125 win over the Detroit Pistons.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Clippers teammate Harden are the other active players to have passed the landmark.

Westbrook, meanwhile, is just the second player in NBA history with 25,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 8,000 assists, after James.

"I'm so grateful to be on this team," said Westbrook, who finished with 23 points. "I don't take any of this for granted."

"Thanks to God man, for allowing me to play the game I love, and be grateful for that. It's a blessing.

"Grateful to be able to play the game of basketball and use my platform to be able to share, impact and inspire people."

Westbrook's basket sparked jubilant celebrations on the Clippers' bench.

"It's a fun group," he added. "We've got good guys, we all hang out, all have fun.

"To see the love and support here from the coaches and my teammates, I'm super grateful for that."

Jaden led the Pistons with 28 points, and he had nothing but praise for Westbrook.

"I actually got to work out with Russ before the start of my rookie year," Ivey said.

"He gave me a lot of advice. He's just a great, humble dude. He took me under his wing a little bit."

The Clippers trailed by 14 points in the first quarter, but clicked through the gears as the game wore on, with Kawhi Leonard (33 points) leading the way.

They’re a tough young team, especially at home," said Westbrook. "We had to figure out how to play the right way, using our effort and energy to close out the game."

Pistons coach Monty Williams was frustrated with his team's sloppiness, however.

"You can't have turnovers and some of the undisciplined errors we had against a team like that," said Williams.

"It's something that has hurt us all season long. When we take care of [the ball], we have a better chance of success."

The Clippers are third in the Western Conference with a 32-15 record, while the Pistons remain rooted to the bottom of the East with the league's worst record (6-42).

Nikola Jokic recorded his league-leading 15th triple-double this season and Jamal Murray fell a rebound shy of one as the Denver Nuggets took down the Portland Trail Blazers, 120-108 on Friday.

Jokic had 27 points, a season-high 22 rebounds and 12 assists for his 120th career triple-double, a total bettered only by Russell Westbrook (198), Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138) in NBA history.

Murray finished with 13 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Aaron Gordon scored 18 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points. The Nuggets have won five straight and 12 of 13 against the Blazers.

Scoot Henderson scored 30 points and Anfernee Simons had 29 for Portland, which played without Jerami Grant, who was a late scratch due to lower back tightness.

Clippers’ Westbrook hits milestone in win

Russell Westbrook scored 23 points to become the 25th player in NBA history to reach 25,000 in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 136-125 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Westbrook, who shot 10 of 13 from the field and handed out nine assists, joined teammate James Harden on the list of players to score 25,000 points. Harden reached the milestone in December.

Kawhi Leonard scored 21 of his 33 points in the first half and Paul George added 18 as the Clippers won for the seventh time in eight games.

Jalen Ivey scored 28 points and Bojan Bogdanovic had 26 for the Pistons, who dropped to 4-41 after a 2-1 start to the season.

Sabonis breaks Robertson’s record in Kings’ win

Domantas Sabonis tallied 26 points and 12 rebounds to break Oscar Robertson’s single-season franchise record with his 30th straight double-double to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 133-122 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Sabonis, who added seven assists, surpassed Robertson’s mark set from Dec. 6, 1961-Jan. 30, 1962.

De’Aaron Fox had 25 points and six assists and Malik Monk added 23 points, six assists and five rebounds to help Sacramento win for the fifth time in six games.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 31 points for the Pacers, who shot 54.1 percent from the field but were hurt by 21 turnovers to fall to 4-8 in their last 12 games.

Monty Williams believes the Detroit Pistons proved they care for the team after a morale-boosting win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Pistons have endured a dismal campaign, only snapping a 28-game losing streak at the end of December.

Detroit have since won a further three games, with their most recent victory coming on Sunday, in a 120-104 defeat of the Western Conference-leading Thunder, who were on a five-game winning spin.

Jalen Duren starred with 22 points and a career-best 21 rebounds for the Pistons, and while they remain rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference with the league's worst record (6-40), Detroit are showing they care, says Williams.

"I just think our guys care," he said. "We had every reason to make excuses, a back-to-back against the best team in the West, and our guys just competed."

Making the Pistons' win even more impressive was the fact that Cade Cunningham, their leading scorer, was out due to a lingering knee issue.

Cunningham played in a defeat to the Washington Wizards on Saturday, but Williams did not want to risk his star player.

"We felt like, on a back-to-back, if there was any level of concern, we didn't feel good putting him out there," Williams said.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, meanwhile, reflected on a poor all-round showing from his team.

"I thought it was an energy thing in both directions," Daigneault said.

"They played with great energy, beat us to balls, played with intensity, and as the game wore on, we couldn't drum up that same energy. They obviously deserved to win today."

Jalen Duren scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons ended the Oklahoma City Thunder's five-game winning streak with a surprising 120-104 victory on Sunday.

Duren finished 9 of 13 from the field and added six assists to lead Detroit, which owns the NBA's worst record, to just its sixth win of the season. Jaden Ivey compiled 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a game the Pistons held out leading scorer Cade Cunningham for injury management reasons. 

The Thunder entered the contest with a half-game lead over Minnesota for first place in the Western Conference, but went just 4 of 14 from 3-point range in the second half while shooting 39.1 per cent overall over the final two quarters.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced Oklahoma City with 31 points, while Jalen Williams had 20 in the loss.

The Pistons never trailed after outscoring the Thunder 17-8 to close out the first half, turning a 53-53 tie into a 70-61 lead at the break.

Detroit stretched the margin to 14 points early in the third quarter, but Gilgeous-Alexander had six points during a 12-4 run that cut Oklahoma City's deficit to 87-84 with under 4 1/2 minutes left in the period.

That was as close as the Thunder got, however, as the Pistons countered with a 13-2 spurt to take a 100-86 lead into the fourth quarter. 

Magic rally past Suns despite Booker's 44 points

Paolo Banchero scored 26 points and the Orlando Magic dominated the fourth quarter to overcome another prolific scoring performance from Phoenix's Devin Booker and rally for a 113-98 win over the Suns.

Booker finished with 44 points two nights after dropping a season-high 62 on the Pacers in Saturday's loss at Indiana, but he and the Suns' shooting went cold down the stretch as they failed to hold on to a 10-point third-quarter lead.

After Kevin Durant's jumper put Phoenix up 92-89 with 10:10 remaining, the Suns went more than eight minutes without a field goal as the Magic took the game over with a 21-2 run. Phoenix missed 11 straight shot attempts and committed five turnovers before Keita Bates-Diop's layup with 1:56 left ended the drought.

The Suns went 5 of 18 from the field while being outscored by a 31-13 margin in the fourth quarter, and their four made 3-pointers in 14 attempts was a season low. 

Booker had 42 points through three quarters but managed just two made free throws in the final period, while Durant was held to 15 points after entering the contest averaging 28.8 per game for the season. 

Moritz Wagner had nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and added 12 rebounds as the Magic ended a two-game losing streak and earned just their third win in their last 10 games.

Bey's late dunk puts Hawks over slumping Raptors

Saddiq Bey capped a 26-point night with a putback dunk with 1.3 seconds left that lifted the Atlanta Hawks to a thrilling 126-125 victory over the slumping Toronto Raptors.

Bey dunked home the rebound of teammate Trae Young's missed shot to put Atlanta ahead for good during a frantic final sequence that saw three lead changes in the final 30 seconds.

Toronto had taken a 125-124 edge after Gradey Dick stole Young's errant pass and fed Scottie Barnes for a breakaway dunk with 7.4 seconds remaining.

Bey added a season-high 13 rebounds and was one of four Atlanta starters to record double-doubles as the Hawks halted a four-game losing streak. Young finished with 30 points and 12 assists, Clint Capela had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Jalen Johnson recorded 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Barnes had 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help the Raptors battle back after trailing 115-108 with under 5 1/2 minutes left, but Toronto was ultimately dealt a fifth straight loss and ninth in 10 games.

Jordan Nwora scored a season-high 24 points off the bench to go along with nine rebounds and six assists for the Raptors, who were playing without three key players as forward RJ Barrett, guard Immanuel Quickley and centre Jakob Poeltl all sat out with injuries. 

Damian Lillard said he had rediscovered his rhythm after his season-high 45 points helped the Milwaukee Bucks past the struggling Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

Lillard became the first player in Milwaukee history to finish a game with at least 40 points, 10 assists and five three-pointers as they opened their double-header in Detroit with a 141-135 success.

The guard's dominant performance came after he went seven of 20 shooting in a blowout defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, and coach Adrian Griffin was delighted with his response. 

"Dame was so great tonight, and he was competing on both sides of the ball," Griffin said after Saturday's win.

"I had no idea he had 45, but he's a rhythm player and he definitely got into a rhythm out there. He made big shots, and that's why he's on this team."

Lillard echoed his coach's sentiments, saying: "I knew it was an important game. I picked my spots. I moved the ball when I needed to move it. I attacked when I needed to attack.

"I've been slowly getting back to how I play more naturally and tonight was one of those nights."

Milwaukee were boosted by the return of two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who added 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists after missing the Cleveland game with a shoulder issue.

Antetokounmpo had chances to boost that tally, missing with 11 of 22 free-throw attempts, but Griffin was pleased with his overall contribution. 

"Giannis was big on both ends," Griffin said. "He got us some stops at the start of the second half and he was aggressive with the ball and getting to the rim. 

"When he draws fouls, he gets us to the bonus faster than a lot of teams, and that's invaluable."

The Bucks are now up to 29-13 after winning four of their last five games, ahead of another meeting with the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Monday.