Detroit, MI

Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons big, out of NBA All-Star dunk contest

Published

2 months ago

February 7, 2026

Press Room

Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons big, out of NBA All-Star dunk contest

The NBA announced its full Slam Dunk contest slate on Saturday, Feb. 7 — and it didn’t include Jalen Duren.

ESPN reported Monday that the Detroit Pistons’ big had accepted an invite to the dunk contest, but he will settle for the All-Star Game instead. Duren was named an All-Star for the first time last Sudnay, joining starter Cade Cunningham and coach J.B. Bickerstaff in the game scheduled for Feb. 15.

Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant, Miami Heat wing Keshad Johnson and Orlando Magic guard Jase Richardson (a Michigan State alumnus) are the dunk contest participants. Duren exited the Pistons’ game Thursday early with right knee soreness, then missed their win over the New York Knicks on Friday.

The Pistons did gain more All-Star representation, though, as ex-Pistons All-Star Richard Hamilton (2002-11) will participate in the “Shooting Stars” challenge with Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren and Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes on “Team All-Star,” former Piston Allan Houston (1993-96) will be part of “Team Knicks,” along with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns and former Piston Corey Maggette (2012-13) will team up with Duke alumni in Atlanta Hawks star Jalen Johnson and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel on “Team Cameron.”

The two other Shooting Stars lineups: Team Harper: five-time NBA champion Ron Harper Sr. and sons Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs) and Ron Harper Jr. (Boston Celtics).

Duren has established himself as a rising star for a Pistons team sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings at 36-12, 5½ games ahead of the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. The fourth-year center is averaging a career-high 18 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.

Duren’s and Cunningham’s All-Star nods mark the Pistons’ first time with multiple representatives in the game since 2008, when Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace all made the East team as reserves.

2026 NBA All-Star reserves

Eastern Conference

Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons.

Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks.

Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks.

Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers

Norman Powell, Miami Heat

Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors.

Western Conference

Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves.

Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets.

Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets.

Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns.

Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers.

LeBron James, LA Lakers.

2026 NBA All-Star Game format

The 2026 All-Star Game format will have two teams of U.S.-born players and one “World” team consisting of international players. The three teams will compete in a round-robin tournament with four 12-minute games.

The breakdown, per NBA.com: “In the round-robin tournament, Team A will play Team B in Game 1. The winning team from Game 1 will take on Team C in Game 2, followed by the losing team of Game 1 meeting Team C in Game 3.

“After Game 3, the top two teams by record will advance to face each other in the championship game (Game 4). If all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the tiebreaker would be point differential in each team’s two round-robin games.”

Pistons in 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend

Cade Cunningham was named a starter in the All-Star Game on Jan. 19, becoming the first Piston picked to start since Allen Iverson in 2008-09. Cunningham, a reserve last season, is the first Piston to make consecutive All-Star games since Chauncey Billups from 2006-08.

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff was officially named a head coach for the 2026 All-Star game on Jan. 24. Bickerstaff is the first Pistons coach with an All-Star nod since Flip Saunders in 2006, and the fourth all-time, following Saunders, Doug Collins in 1997 and Chuck Daly in 1990.

Cunningham, Duren and Bickerstaff are all on the “Team USA Stars” team.

NBA All-Star starters 2026

Eastern Conference

Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons.

Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks.

Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers.

Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks.

Western Conference

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder.

Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers.

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors.

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs.

Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets.

MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]

2026 NBA All-Star Weekend schedule

(All times Eastern)

Friday, Feb. 13

All-Star Celebrity Game: 7 p.m., ESPN, Kia Forum.

Rising Stars Game: 9 p.m., Peacock, Intuit Dome.

NBA HBCU Classic (Hampton vs. North Carolina A&T): 11 p.m., Peacock, Kia Forum.

Saturday, Feb. 14

All-Star Media Day: 1:30 p.m., NBA TV, Intuit Dome.

All-Star Saturday (3-point competition, dunk contest, skills competition): 5 p.m., NBC/Peacock, Intuit Dome.

Sunday, Feb. 15

75th NBA All-Star Game: 5 p.m., NBC/Peacock, Intuit Dome.

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.

Source link

Click to comment

Detroit, MI

Troopers arrest Detroit woman after drive-by shooting on I-94

Published

9 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Troopers arrest Detroit woman after drive-by shooting on I-94

A Detroit woman was arrested in the aftermath of a hit-and-run collision and shooting on Interstate 94, Michigan State Police reported.

Emergency dispatchers were called shortly after midnight Saturday about the altercation. Troopers reported the caller said while they were driving eastbound on I-94, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a black Jeep sideswiped them and sped off.

The caller then decided to follow the Jeep.

In response, police said, the driver of the Jeep fired several gunshots in the caller’s direction.

None of the gunshots struck the vehicle.

Troopers were able to use license plate reader camera technology to locate the Jeep while it was on the Lodge Freeway, made a traffic stop. The driver and two passengers were taken into custody without incident.

The passengers were released shortly afterwards; troopers believe that the 19-year-old driver was the shooter. She has been lodged pending further review by the prosecutor’s office.

In addition, a firearm was recovered from the vehicle.

The above video originally aired on Aug. 19, 2025.

In:

Source link

Detroit, MI

Orlando Magic vs Detroit Pistons odds for NBA playoffs Game 1 Sunday

Published

22 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Orlando Magic vs Detroit Pistons odds for NBA playoffs Game 1 Sunday

Who is favored in the NBA playoffs odds for Game 1 between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic?

Here’s what you need to know about NBA playoff betting odds for the NBA game between the No. 8 seed Magic and No. 1 seed Pistons, which is being played on Sunday, April 19, 2026.

What is the point spread for the Pistons vs Magic game?

What is the moneyline for the Magic vs Pistons game?

What is the over/under (point total) for betting on the first-round NBA playoff matchup?

Watch Magic at Pistons on Peacock

Magic vs Pistons odds: What is point spread?

According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Detroit Pistons are an 8.5-point favorite over the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of their NBA Playoffs series.

Pistons vs Magic odds: What is moneyline?

BetMGM Sportsbook lists Detroit as -375 on the moneyline for the first-round NBA playoff game. It has Orlando at +290.

Magic vs Pistons odds: What is over/under?

The point total for the opening game of the NBA playoffs series between the Pistons and Magic is listed at 218.5 points, per BetMGM Sportsbook.

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today. Sign up for azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing.

Source link

Detroit, MI

Detroit Tigers call up prospect Hao-Yu Lee, place Zach McKinstry on IL

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Tigers call up prospect Hao-Yu Lee, place Zach McKinstry on IL

Boston — Not a bad place for big-league debut.

The Tigers on Friday placed Zach McKinstry on the 10-day injured list and called up infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee from Triple-A Toledo. He was in the lineup against the Red Sox, batting eighth at Fenway Park.

“We’re excited for Lee to get his feet wet in the big leagues,” manager AJ Hinch said. “He’s a good player. We’ve had him in big league camp the last two years. He hits the ball hard and can play good defense. Now he’s getting his first look at one of the cathedrals in our sport for his debut.”

Part of the decision to call up Lee, and not Jace Jung or Trei Cruz, Hinch said, was where the Tigers are in the schedule. Including Friday against Ranger Suarez, the Tigers will be facing six lefties in the next 12 games.

The right-handed hitting Lee slugged .558 with a .969 OPS against lefties last season.

Coming off an oblique injury this spring, which kept him from playing for Chinese Taipei in the WBC, he’s off to a slow start at Toledo (4 for 26).

“He’s been swinging it better than his numbers indicate,” Hinch said. “Results are so finicky this time of year. He’s coming off a good day (Wednesday). He hit a home run. So it’s good timing for that. He’s been hitting it hard and making good decisions on what to swing at.

“And that is key in transitioning from Triple-A to the big leagues.”

McKinstry exited Wednesday night’s game against the Royals ahead of the eighth inning of the Tigers’ 2-1 victory. He fell hard on the hip twice. Once on a head-first slide at the plate and the other after he was tripped up by Royals’ Jac Caglianone.

“He’s pretty beat up,” Hinch said. “We didn’t want to play short-handed but we’re also hoping to get him back quickly.”

McKinstry stayed back in Detroit and is expected to undergo further evaluations.

“He was doing better today than he was yesterday,” Hinch said. “But he clearly needed a break to heal up.”

Lee, 23, was not made available to the media until after the game. He is No. 6 among the Tigers’ top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, and was acquired by the Tigers in an August 2023 trade that sent starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Around the horn

Justin Verlander (hip inflammation) did not make the trip to Boston. “We have to respect the soreness and inflammation that he’s dealing with,” Hinch said. “He’s working out and he’s doing everything. It’s just going a little bit slower. We’re going to respect it and give him the time he needs.”

… Lefty reliever Bailey Horn (elbow), who has had his throwing program paused, received a cortisone shot Thursday.

Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com

@cmccosky

Source link