INDIANAPOLIS — The Detroit Pistons survived a fourth-quarter rally from the Indiana Pacers to take a 122-117 victory, Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. With the win, the Pistons extended their winning streak to 13, tying the all-time franchise record.

The Pistons once led by 19 points, but the Pacers would not go away. Isaiah Jackson ...Read more

MIAMI — The consistency of Norman Powell was missing, with the Miami Heat scoring leader again sidelined by a groin issue.

But Tyler Herro was there to step in, with his own steadying presence, in this case a run of nine consecutive made shots ... and later the winning basket.

No, this 106-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on the second ...Read more

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks’ road struggles don’t seem to apply when the trip is only across the river. Barclays Center once again felt like a second home Monday night, packed with Knicks fans and MSG-style vendors lining the outdoor plaza. And once again, the visitors made themselves comfortable, beating the Brooklyn Nets 113-100 in ...Read more

The Denver Nuggets have lost their last two home games, but they’ve won six in a row on the road after a 125-115 victory at the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night.

Here are three takeaways as Denver improved to 13-4 going into a three-day break:

Watson: 3-and-D?

That’s not how Watson has been known in his first three NBA seasons. But it ...Read more

Before the season, Kansas fans joked — or perhaps hoped, with the loftiest of ideals — that big man Flory Bidunga and freshman phenom Darryn Peterson would become KU’s iteration of Shaq and Kobe.

The comparison wasn’t quite rooted in reality given how dominant Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were, winning multiple NBA championships ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — As expected, the Kentucky Wildcats took a tumble in the latest men’s college basketball Top 25 rankings.

The new Associated Press poll was released Monday afternoon, and the Cats dropped seven spots to the No. 19 position in the rankings. The latest fall came six days after Mark Pope’s team was embarrassed in Madison ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — The Los Angeles Lakers won their fourth consecutive game Sunday, holding off the Utah Jazz 108-106 in Delta Center behind 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Doncic.

The Lakers (12-4) nearly squandered a 10-point lead in the final six minutes and 36 seconds, allowing the Jazz to cut the lead to one with 41.3 ...Read more

BOSTON — A long-term injury to Neemias Queta could spell trouble for the Boston Celtics.

But for at least one night, Boston didn’t need its No. 1 center.

The Celtics lost Queta, a standout in his first season as an NBA starter, to an ankle sprain midway through the first quarter Sunday but were able to secure a victory over the undermanned...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — The UConn men’s basketball team has a new Mr. Triple-Double.

Silas Demary Jr., the junior point guard brought in from Georgia to make a Tristen Newton-like impact, had his hands all over Sunday’s 79-42 win over Bryant in a sold-out PeoplesBank Arena.

Demary fired a pass down to freshman center Eric Reibe for a dunk with...Read more

Tyrese Martin tried to save the Brooklyn Nets, turning in a 26-point night off the bench performance. Everything else, though, looked far too familiar. Brooklyn fell to 3-13 after another slow start, another frantic comeback and another fourth-quarter fade it couldn’t shake.

And once again, the trouble started almost immediately, with the ...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke fans had a lot to cheer Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The “Brotherhood Run” came to an end as Howard coach Kenny Blakeney, who played on Duke’s 1992 national championship team, was given a nice round of applause before the game.

The noise level grew once the ball went up as the No. 5 Blue Devils began running ...Read more

DENVER — That shadow over the court was Aaron Gordon’s. Suddenly, the Denver Nuggets felt his absence as painfully as their opponents usually feel his presence.

He would have been perfect for a crunch-time possession late Saturday night and the unenviable task of guarding DeMar DeRozan with a game on the line.

David Adelman instead asked ...Read more

It continues to be a case of not who but rather how for the Miami Heat.

With Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jovic and Tyler Herro back in South Florida, the Heat went into Philadelphia Sunday and extended their winning streak to a season-best four in a row, with a 127-117 victory over the 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Once again, Erik Spoelstra’s ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Seventy hours.

Give or take a few minutes, that’s how long the Kentucky Wildcats had to wait for another shot at outside competition after they walked off the Madison Square Garden court Tuesday night, the scoreboard above them telling the tale of the embarrassment they had just endured.

How eager was Otega Oweh — the ...Read more

Based on some of the discourse in recent weeks, if you didn’t know better you’d think calamity was about to consume the Miami Heat.

After all, how will Tyler Herro’s imminent return from September ankle surgery impact what has a rejuvenating return to competitiveness by Erik Spoelstra’s team?

Um … by making a good team better?

Yes, ...Read more

The Sacramento Kings’ miserable eight-game losing streak is mercifully over.

They put together their best performance of the season Saturday night in Denver, beating the beat-up Nuggets 128-123 at Ball Arena to improve to 4-13 on the season.

The story of the night was the Kings’ offense. They matched their season high in assists when they ...Read more