Cunningham scores a season-high 40 and Pistons win 3rd straight, 119-105 over Timberwolves

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored a season-high 40 points and the Detroit Pistons overcame Anthony Edwards’ career-high 53 points to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105 on Saturday night.

Cunningham, who also had nine assists, set his previous season high of 35 points against Milwaukee on Nov. 13.

Edwards’ previous career high was 51 points against Washington on April 9 last season. His 3-pointer with 9:25 remaining tied his career best but he didn’t score again until 22 seconds remained.

Malik Beasley had 23 points as the Pistons won their third straight and sixth in their last seven games. Tobias Harris contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds and Ausar Thompson added 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best six steals.

Julius Randle was the only other Minnesota player in double figures with 17 points.

Takeaways

Timberwolves: A Western Conference finalist last season, they appeared to be heating up with three straight victories late last month. They’ve now lost three in a row to drop back to the .500 mark (17-17).

Pistons: With starting guard Jaden Ivey sidelined by a fractured fibula, the Pistons may have found his replacement in the lineup. Thompson gave that unit a defensive spark that energized their transition game.

Key moment

Detroit had a five-point lead after the first quarter and extended it to 18 with a 13-0 run to start the second. Cunningham had six points and an assist while Thompson made two steals and dunks during that span. The Pistons led the rest of the way.

Key stat

Edwards had been held to 20 or fewer points in eight of the previous 14 games. His previous season high was 37 points against Portland on Nov. 8.

Up next

The Timberwolves host the Los Angeles Clippers and the Pistons host Portland on Monday night.

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