The red-hot Detroit Pistons entered Friday night’s contest against the Utah Jazz looking to continue their dominant west coast road trip, but came up short, 131–129, in a high-powered offensive duel against a middle-of-the-pack Utah Jazz.

The Pistons entered this game with the Eastern Conference’s best record, led by their exciting young star Cade Cunningham and his versatile supporting cast that have made it very difficult for many teams to find any sort of success against. That wasn’t the case this time around, as Detroit was left with the reminder that even the best of the best can suffer close losses in offensive shootouts. 

The game began with the typically offensive showing from Detroit, staying relatively even with the Jazz but still allowing Utah to find ways to score against their team who rank second in the league in defensive ratings. Detroit found themselves working to undo an early deficit, which ultimately came with a late first quarter run in which they scored 20 points to Utah’s 4 points and flipped the momentum back in their favor heading into the second quarter.

The Jazz continued to give Detroit their best effort at dethroning the team to beat in the East, as Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh wouldn’t let up their scoring onslaught. Detroit’s Cade Cunningham was seemingly everywhere all at once, totaling a career-best 13 total first half assists to keep his team in the game heading into halftime of a late-night dogfight. 

The third quarter was where Utah did the bulk of their damage, pouring on the points behind Markkanen and Kevin Love who continued to stay hot from the free throw line while adding a few of their own deep shots from three. Piston’s Head Coach JB Bickerstaff mixed in his role players off the bench to create some sort of spark but couldn’t match Utah’s steady pace from their role players.

Ultimately, Detroit gave everything they had in the fourth quarter as they clawed their way back into this game led by Cunningham’s 29 points and 17 assists. Tied at 129 a piece with 18 seconds remaining, Utah closed out their final possession with Keyonte George’s two-point floater to take the lead, only for Detroit’s Cade Cunningham to miss his contested three point shot to finalize this game 131-129.

One key takeaway for Pistons fans is the continued need for another piece on this team, which has been a topic of discussion leading up to the NBA trade deadline. In these close games, their highly praised defensive presence could use a spark, which could lead to an addition or two over the course of the coming weeks. 

Detroit’s offense still remains one of the league’s better groups but surely wouldn’t be opposed to adding another premier scorer to propel them as the season rolls on. It’ll remain a heavy topic of discussion into the new year, but for now, Detroit will look to finish their trip out west and close out 2025 against the pair of Los Angeles teams.

They’ll take on the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome this Sunday with tip-off set for 9:00 p.m.

Detroit Red Wings Hockey Hall of Famer Igor Larionov is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable minds in hockey. His wisdom about the game has earned him the nickname “The Professor.”

However, even professors sometimes give out bad advice. During a KHL game on Boxing Day, Larionov was guilty of such a transgression.

The coach of SKA St. Petersburg in Russia’s KHL, Larionov, was in the midst of game action when he moved down the bench, offering some of his professorial advice to backup goalie Egor Zavragin.

He told his backup netminder to take off his goalie mask. Zavragin did so. Almost immediately, he would regret that decision.

There’s nothing a goalie hates more than when a teammate takes a shot at them when they’re not expecting it.

​Usually, such transgressions occur during the pre-game warm-up or at practice.

In this game, it happened in the midst of the action.

Pretty unique kind of friendly fire 🧐 pic.twitter.com/hMXiqkCBOj

— KHL (@khl_eng) December 26, 2025

As SKA St. Petersburg was facing Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo forward Vitaly Pinchuk brought the puck along the boards toward the SKA end, passing in front of the St. Petersburg team’s bench.

Timing it perfectly, SKA defenseman Markus Phillips delivered a punishing body check, lifting Pinchuk over the boards. He was still airborne as he went crashing into Zavragin, who was sitting at the end of the bench.

The force of the collision sent Zavragin spilling backwards and down the tunnel leading to the dressing room. Impressively, almost immediately, Pinchuk was back on his feet, climbing over the boards and back into the action.

Red Wings Legend Regrets His Words

“Literally a minute and a half before, I told the goalie on the bench, Zavragin, ‘Take off your mask,” Larionov told Russian broadcaster MatchTV, according to translation provided by the website RMNB. “This isn’t junior hockey. You need to watch the game so they can see your face.’”

Just moments before the collision with Pinchuk, Zavragin found himself dodging a flying puck.

“In the second period, I told him, ‘Take off your mask again,” Larionov said. “‘People want to see you on TV.’ He said, ‘No, I was almost knocked out.’ Zava said he won’t take his mask off again, even on the bench.”

The incident left one unanswered question.

Can a player be penalized for backup goalie interference?

Detroit — A few hundred people braved a cold and gray Friday afternoon in downtown Detroit to warm their hearts in preparation for 2026 as the Kwanzaa season got underway with the lighting of the first kinara candle.

Now in its fourth year, the annual event in Campus Martius marks the first of the seven days of Kwanzaa with traditional African drumming and dance performances, as well as speakers discussing Kwanzaa’s significance. It culminates with the lighting of the world’s largest kinara.

“As the Sankofa symbol of West Africa tells us, ‘Return to the source,’ Kwanzaa has returned many to being mindful of their African heritage while strengthening community connections through culture and celebration,” said Nubia Morenike Wardford Polk, from the Detroit-based Nubian Archaeological Project.

Kwanzaa continues through Jan. 1. The celebration was established in 1966 to honor Black communities, culture and heritage.

The event incorporates seven principles — unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith — which are collectively called the Nguzo Saba and are each represented by the seven candles on the Kinara.

An additional candle is lit each day until all seven are lit on Jan. 1, representing activation of the principles for the new year.

“This is a favorite time for family and community to come together,” said Njia Kai, programming and special events producer for the Downtown Detroit Partnership, one of many local groups that help coordinate the annual event. “We discuss the principles, we re-establish our bonds, we have our children engaged … it’s just a wonderful seven days of fellowship.”

Kai was encouraged by Friday’s strong turnout despite the cold weather.

“Folks come. We expect the space to be packed out,” she said as people began filing into the seating area in front of the stage, where drummers were already banging out a hypnotic rhythm. “Like any other holiday that has a community associated with it, that community loves to come out and celebrate it.”

Event organizers say Detroit’s Kinara, officially dubbed the Motor City Kwanzaa Kinara, is the largest in the world.

City Council Member Scott Benson said Detroit is an appropriate home for the 30-plus-foot-tall structure, which was built by a team of Black architects, engineers and carpenters from the Detroit area.

“At a time when institutions around the U.S. are backing away from celebrating diversity, we warmly embrace it in Detroit,” the District 3 councilman said.

Friday’s celebration was hosted by John Mason, the longtime 105.9 KISS-FM morning radio host and Detroit Pistons public address announcer.

Mason said he studied under Maulana Karenga, the activist and author credited with establishing Kwanzaa, when he was a student and Karenga a visiting professor at Kent State University. At the time, Karenga went by the first name Ron.

“To the honorable Ron Karenga, we say thank you, and enjoy Kwanzaa,” Mason said.

mreinhart@detroitnews.com

@max_detroitnews