Detroit, MI
Detroit Pistons find new altitude in win over Denver Nuggets
Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff reacts to All-Star Game nod: ‘It’s special’
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff reacts Jan. 25, 2026 to being named an NBA All-Star Game head coach. “It’s special for a lot of different reasons.”
DENVER — The air was rare, and so was the Detroit Pistons escape from a late scare to kick off their three-game Western Conference road trip with a victory.
Piston-killer Jamal Murray missed two of three free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining as the Pistons squeaked by the Denver Nuggets, 109-107, at Ball Arena. They were led by Cade Cunningham (22 points, 11 assists) and Tobias Harris (22 points, eight rebounds), who hit the winning free throws late in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons led by 18 points in the second quarter, but a Nuggets run late in the fourth cut it to one, 105-104, with under a minute to go. Harris hit a clutch jumper from midrange to extend the lead to three, but Javonte Green fouled Jamal Murray on a 3-point attempt with 3.5 seconds left.
With a chance to tie the game, Murray missed the first free throw but made the next two to make it a one-point game again. Harris went to the line with 2 seconds left and made both to push the lead back to three, 109-106. But with 0.7 seconds left, Green fouled Murray on another 3-point attempt.
This time, Murray made the first but missed the second, icing the win for the Pistons. He intentionally missed the third free throw and the Nuggets couldn’t corral the rebound. They did a good job defensively on Murray, who finished with 24 points and 10 assists but shot 7-for-18.
The Nuggets were without Nikola Jokic (left knee bone bruise), Aaron Gordon (right hamstring strain), Cameron Johnson (right knee bone bruise) and Christian Braun (left ankle sprain). The Pistons were without Caris LeVert (illness) for the third game in a row.
The victory boosted the Pistons to 34-11 and extended their lead as the top seed in the Eastern Conference to 5½ games over the Boston Celtics, and their lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Central Division to 7½ games. Next up, the Pistons head to Phoenix to take on the Suns on Thursday (9 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) before wrapping up the trip the following night against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Pistons withstand late run from Nuggets, Murray
The Pistons got off to a terrific defensive start, holding the Nuggets to 31.6% shooting in the first quarter and closing it with a 13-point lead, 31-18. They took the lead for good with a layup from Cunningham a minute into the first quarter, after Denver opened the game with a pair of free throws from Jamal Murray.
But it got close late in the fourth when a 3-point play from Murray cut their lead to four, 99-95, with 3:03 to play. Murray followed with a layup to cut it to two, but a stepback midrange jumper from Cunningham and layup by Harris extended back to six, 103-97, at the 1:33 mark.
Murray, Denver’s star guard who had averaged better than 30 points against the Pistons in three previous games, got going late in the fourth. A turnaround jumper over Green cut it back to four, and then ex-Piston Tim Hardaway Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer to cut it to one, 103-102, with 56.4 seconds on the clock.
But Murray missed the most important shots of the night when he clanked his first of three free throws at the 3.5 second mark, and then his second free throw attempt with 0.7 seconds left, costing the Nuggets a chance to send the game into overtime.
Pistons struggle from 3 again
The Pistons led the Nuggets for almost the entirety of the night while enduring one of their worst performances from behind-the-arc. They were 2-for-21 from 3 midway through the third quarter, before they knocked down four of their final five attempts of the period.
Green, who has shot 41.1% from 3 (23-for-56) since Dec. 23, knocked down their first 3 of the game toward the end of the first quarter to extend their lead to 11, 27-16. He and Holland were the only Pistons to make a 3-pointer when Holland knocked down his second one of the game with 3:33 remaining in the third. At that point, Detroit was 3-for-22 as a team.
Jaden Ivey brought some needed shotmaking off of the bench, hitting a deep stepback 3-pointer as time expired with 2:11 left in the third. He followed that by beating the third-quarter buzzer with another 3, pushing the lead back to double digits, 82-72.
Two of the Pistons’ worst performances from 3 this season have come in their past three games, going 6-for-31 on Tuesday after hitting just seven of their 32 attempts (21.9%) in a loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday. The two games bookend one of their best 3-point performances, a 16-for-31 (51.6%) mark in a blowout win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Part of the reason is because Duncan Robinson is in a mini-slump, going 0-for-8 from 3 against the Nuggets and 2-for-8 against the Rockets. Robinson had just two points on Tuesday – on a dunk in the fourth quarter.
MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Want more Pistons updates? Download our free app for the latest news, alerts, eNewspaper and more.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.
Detroit, MI
Police search for suspect, accomplice after teen injured in shooting outside Detroit school gym
The Detroit Police Department is searching for a suspect and an accomplice in connection with a shooting last week that injured a teen outside a school gym.
The shooting happened in the 3400 block of St. Aubin, the same area where the Detroit Edison Public School Academy’s Early College of Excellence is located. Police say that at about 8:27 p.m. on Feb. 27, there was an altercation inside the gym that continued outside.
Police say the suspect allegedly fired multiple shots at the victim, striking him. The teen was taken to a hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown.
Police say the accomplice who was with the suspect was also armed.
Anyone with information is asked to call DPD’s seventh precinct at 313-596-5740, Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up or DetroitRewards.tv.
Detroit, MI
Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans
Treatment will delay the Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new film ‘Ernie & Emma’ this summer.
Royal Oak-born movie star and cult hero Bruce Campbell announced on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed cancer — a type that is “treatable” but not “curable,” he said.
“I apologize if that’s a shock — it was to me too,” the “Evil Dead” star, 67, wrote in a message posted to Instagram.
He went on to say “I’m not gonna go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He said the public announcement had to do with scaling back appearances on his schedule, including tour dates behind his latest film, “Ernie & Emma.”
Campbell planned to show the movie June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date is still on the Redford schedule, but Campbell wrote in his note he plans to get “as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”
The movie is written, directed by and stars Campbell as a man who goes on a journey following the death of his wife. Campbell produced the movie alongside his wife, Ida Gearon, and filmed it in Oregon, where he now lives.
Campbell told The News in January he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood moviemaking pals, including Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.
“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the f–k we wanted to do,” Campbell said of “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this,’ so they’re all in there.”
Campbell got his start making movies around Metro Detroit with his childhood pal, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has since appeared in most of Raimi’s films; Campbell makes a brief appearance in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s latest, “Send Help.”
He’s also an author; Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” was published in 2001.
In his post on social media, Campbell thanked fans and said he was not out to elicit sympathy.
“Fear not, I am a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,” he wrote.
agraham@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:
“Slow down and move over” is the message that Michigan State Police is sending to drivers after one of its troopers in a parked patrol car was struck while investigating a crash this weekend. The driver of that vehicle fled the scene.
Michigan State Police tells CBS News Detroit that we’re two months into the year, and it has had six incidents across the state where patrol cars were struck by oncoming vehicles. One of those incidents occurred on Sunday evening.
“Could have been much more tragic,” said MSP Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez, First District public information officer.
Gonzalez says on Sunday, an MSP trooper was near M-10 and Schaefer Highway in Detroit, simply doing his job, when his patrol car was hit from behind.
“Trooper was out there, and he was investigating a crash when, at the time, a Jeep SUV drove into the rear of the parked vehicle,” Gonzalez said.
The impact slid the trooper’s car into a concrete wall. The 29-year-old Detroit woman driving the Jeep SUV struck the center median, got out of the vehicle, and ran away.
“Not sure why they did it. Maybe not paying attention if they were distracted. They’re attempting to locate her at this time,” said Lt. Gonzalez.
The trooper walked away with minor injuries. Gonzalez says this incident is an example of why Michigan’s Move Over Law was put in place many years ago. The law, which went into effect in 2019, requires drivers to move over into the next lane and reduce their speed by at least 10 mph when emergency or service vehicles — police, fire, rescue, ambulance and road service — have their lights activated.
Drivers who are not able to move over are still required to reduce their speed.
“Trying to do our jobs, however, people are not paying attention. The law is easy. It’s simple. You see us, you see our lights activated, you have to slow down ten miles below the posted speed limit, and then if able, move over to the next occupied available lane,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez says crashes like this can be deadly and often avoided.
“One life lost over something that was a totally preventable crash, it’s way too much. We’re asking that you slow down and move over when you see our lights. It’s a simple message that we’ve been pushing out for years,” he said.
Sunday’s crash remains under investigation. Michigan State Police detectives are still working to track down the 29-year-old suspect.
In the meantime, police are out enforcing the Move Over Law.
-
World6 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts6 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO6 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon4 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Florida3 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Maryland3 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Culture1 week agoTry This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies