Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers has been named the American League Cy Young award winner.
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Detroit Pistons defense stands out in preseason win vs Milwaukee Bucks
Pistons Pulse hosts Bryce and Omari talk about their major takeaway from the Pistons’ first preseason game. Full podcast out now.
The Detroit Pistons have a clear “A” and “B” option on offense this season.
They took the floor together for the first time on Friday, as Tobias Harris made his preseason debut after missing the first two games with COVID-19. He and Cade Cunningham got whatever they wanted against the Phoenix Suns and spearheaded a blowout victory.
The Pistons defeated the Suns on the road, 109-91, to bounce back from a nine-point loss to the Suns in East Lansing on Tuesday to improve to 2-1 in preseason. Cunningham finished with a near-triple double — 25 points (on 10-for-16 shooting), 12 rebounds, nine assists and two steals. Harris tallied 22 points (on 8-for-13 shooting).
OWNER TALK: Tom Gores has new approach: ‘Not gonna put any limits on this team’
It was an encouraging performance that the team will look to build on with two exhibition games remaining before the regular-season opener on Oct. 23. As a team, the Pistons shot 48.8% despite hitting just 26.5% on 3-pointers. They also got another strong outing from Jaden Ivey, who scored 12 of his 16 points in the third period.
Kevin Durant (18 points) and Bradley Beal (17 points) led the way for Phoenix.
With Harris’ return, J.B. Bickerstaff debuted his third new starting lineup in as many games with he and Tim Hardaway Jr. replacing Simone Fontecchio and Malik Beasley. It was Hardaway’s second start, after getting the nod in the Pistons’ preseason opener Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Isaiah Stewart started the second half in place of Jalen Duren, who looked as though he might’ve tweaked something in his lower body during the first half.
Grand Rapids native Devin Booker missed the game for the Suns due to right ankle soreness. Bobi Klintman (right calf contusion) missed his third straight game for the Pistons.
Harris quickly asserted himself as a go-to option, and Cunningham followed suit.
The veteran forward scored the Pistons’ first seven points, and proceeded to make his first six shot attempts for an early 14 points in the first quarter. He scored in a variety of ways — a pair of pull-up jumpers from midrange, a pair of catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and a steal and transition dunk.
After two quiet preseason games, Cunningham found his rhythm. He got going with a fast-break dunk after stealing the ball from Durant, then added a midrange jumper and a 3 later in the first quarter.
Cunningham produced one of the top highlights of the night with another play involving on Durant, blowing past him with a spin move before finishing through contact with his left hand to draw a foul. The ensuing free throw brought him to 14 points at the end of the first quarter, on 6-for-7 shooting.
The duo continued to knock down shots in the second. By halftime, they were responsible for 38 of the Pistons’ 65 points, on 15-for-22 shooting overall. They consistently generated their own looks and created for their teammates, accounting for eight of their 12 assists in the same span to help build a 15-point lead.
It was as good a debut as the Pistons could’ve hoped for for Harris, who missed time this week on the injury report but immediately looked comfortable with the scheme. In practice earlier this week, he talked about getting acclimated during practice, before COVID-19 forced him to take time off.
There are two preseason games remaining for him to settle in even further before the regular season opens.
“For a guy like myself, being able to catch and shoot, being able to find passing lanes for different guys for open looks and being aggressive and using my size and speed to punish the little guys, or blow by slower forwards, that’s been the name of the game my whole career,” he said Wednesday. “Obviously for us it’s just figuring out different guys, personnel-wise on the floor, how they complement each other and how we can make the game easy for each other.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
Over the past years, Malik Beasley has suited up for countless different franchises across the NBA. His journeyman voyage continued this summer when he inked a one-year deal with the Detroit Pistons in free agency.
Through the first few weeks of the season, Beasley is looking like one of the best value signins of free agency. His outside shooting has provided a much-needed dynamic to Detroit’s offense, and he is putting up some of his best numbers in the process. Beasley is currently averaging 15.4 PPG and shooting 39.3% from beyond the arc on 9.1 attempts per game.
Along with having success on the court, Beasley seems to be enjoying his new life outside of basketball as well. During a recent appearance on The Detroit Pistons Podcast, the veteran sharpshooter opened up on how Detroit is a bit of a second home for him.
“My mom’s from here born and raised,” Beasley said. “My mom used to bring me out here every summer with my sister. To be out here right now playing for the Pistons is a dream come true. It’s like my second home…I’m just glad to be here.”
At the moment, Beasley finds himself in the midst of one of the best offensive streaks of his career. Despite shifting between the second unit and starting lineup, he has racked up five straight 20+ point performances. Beasley has notched a season-high 26 points on two occasions in the past week, once against the Milwauke Bucks and once against the Washington Wizards.
Between his complementary play on the court and being a veteran leader behind the scenes, Beasley has been a huge addition to the Pistons this season. His presence on and off the floor has been a catalyst to their impressive start to the year.
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (FOX 2) – A well-known Detroit-area pastor has died after police say he was struck by a car driven by an undocumented immigrant. Now his family is wondering why that driver was let go as they grieve.
The word “Heartbreak” does not even begin to describe what Teri Singleton had been feeling in the days since losing her husband, 72-year-old Stephen Singleton.
“I had to sit and watch my husband of 53 years die in front of me and then to know that the person who did this is walking around is very difficult to deal with,” said Teri Singleton.
He was a well-known area pastor, who would do anything for anyone. Police say he was struck by an undocumented immigrant as he crossed the street in Rochester Hills earlier in November. Singleton died several days later.
“He had almost every bone in his body broken,” said Singleton. “He had his collarbone fractured, internal organ damage, and his skull was cracked. He had two craniotomies in the hospital.”
Family members say Pastor Singleton was a dedicated servant of god and a former medic who traveled to New York City to help injured victims of the 9/11 attacks. He gathered at a church there with other religious leaders to pray and spoke about it with FOX 2’s Amy Lange in September 2023.
“After everybody had prayed, he started saying the Lord’s Prayer, and he said it with a whisper, he said it with a shout, he said it with a sing, and then he said it with so much passion that it brought me to tears,” Stephen Singleton said. “I wanted to save somebody. That’s-bottomline.”
He also helped in the search for survivors. It would be local medics who would desperately try to save Singleton’s life after he was hit by a man driving a 2013 Ford Focus as he crossed Rochester Road at Avon. He had just gone for his usual morning walk.
“He’s been coming back within, I’ll say, 45 minutes at the most. He didn’t return. I was sitting there waiting,” said Teri Singleton. “I was actually less than a block away from where it happened.”
Detectives say that the driver was a citizen of Columbia. US Customs and Border Protection determined he entered the US illegally and was released pending a future date in federal court. That’s the most painful part for the pastor’s family.
“He’s dead and they’re walking around. That’s bothering me,” Teri said.
For now, they continue their quest for justice…while staying in faith and love.
“I will not be angry because this has happened,” said Stephen’s daughter Ruth. “I refuse to be angry. I will still love like my Dad taught me to.”
They have also put together a Go-Fund-Me page, hoping to give Pastor Singleton the dignified send-off he deserves.
“He was a loving person who cared about everybody,” said Teri Singleton. “I mean, the whole neighborhood, everybody in our community has come to my door. They didn’t even see the name on the report, but they knew him because of his habits.”
FOX 2 has reached out to government sources to see exactly why the suspect was released and when the next court date will be. Police say Singleton was wearing a reflective vest and was walking in a properly marked cross-walk when he was hit.
Police believe speed or alcohol were factors in the crash.
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers has been named the American League Cy Young award winner.
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