DETROIT — Kevin Durant scored an NBA season-high 51 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ 116-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
Cade Cunningham had 26 and Frank Jackson added 25 for Detroit, which lost its 12th straight. The Pistons’ last win was Nov. 17 against the Pacers, and they still haven’t won back-to-back games this season.
Patty Mills added 18 points for the Nets, who outscored Detroit 30-13 in the fourth quarter.
Durant was fined $25,000 on Sunday for using multiple expletives at a fan who yelled “Durant, stop crying,” on Friday during a game in Atlanta. He also bested Stephen Curry’s 50-point total for the league high this season, which Curry did Nov. 8 against Atlanta. It was Durant’s seventh 50-point game of his career.
MAVERICKS 103, THUNDER 84
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jalen Brunson had 18 points and nine rebounds while starting in place of injured star Luka Doncic, leading Dallas Mavericks over Oklahoma City.
It was the first time this season the Mavericks won without Doncic, who experienced a flareup of a previous ankle injury in Friday’s game against Indiana and is being held out for back-to-back games.
Maxi Kleber scored 16 points off the Mavericks’ bench and fellow reserve Moses Brown added 15 against his former team. Kristaps Porzingis had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 18 points.
TIMBERWOLVES 116, TRAIL BLAZERS 111
PORTLAND, Ore. — Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Portland.
Anthony Edwards added 24 points for Minnesota, which also ended an eight-game losing streak in Portland. The loss was Portland’s fifth straight.
Anfernee Simons had 26 points off the bench for the Blazers and Damian Lillard returned from an abdomen injury to score 24 points and pull down 11 rebounds.
BUCKS 112, KNICKS 97
NEW YORK — Khris Middleton scored 24 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo has his first triple-double of the season to lead Milwaukee over New York.
One of seven Bucks in double-digit scoring, Antetokounmpo had 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Milwaukee won its second straight game and 10th out of 12 overall.
New York has lost three in a row and seven of 10. In his first NBA start, Quentin Grimes scored 27 for the Knicks and set a team record for the most 3-pointers made in a game by a rookie with seven. Grimes replaced R.J. Barrett in the starting lineup. Derrick Rose replaced Alec Burks and scored 18 points.
SPURS 112, PELICANS 97
SAN ANTONIO — Jakob Poeltl had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Derrick White added 24 points, and San Antonio beat New Orleans.
Dejounte Murray added 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as San Antonio won for the fifth time in nine games. White added nine assists and eight rebounds.
Brandon Ingram had 27 points to lead New Orleans, while Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Pelicans have lost four of six as they try to rebound from a nine-game skid during the first few weeks of the season.
