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.

EARLY ALL-STAR: Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff has special tie to NBA All-Star Game

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. 

DETROIT (FOX 2) – The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is dealing with dozens of water main breaks around the city as a cold snap continues.

Gary Brown, the DWSD director, said Tuesday morning that there were “at least a couple dozen” water main breaks.

Water main break flooding:

At least three of those water main breaks led to flooding, which then resulted in frozen streets.

People on Laing near Britain, not far from Morang, have reportedly been complaining about a water main break since Monday, and 911 dispatchers have fielded calls about vehicles stuck in the ice and water.

Another water main break flooded about ⅔ of Bringard near Barlow, which is south of Eight Mile, before freezing.

Also on the east side, a water main break with less severe flooding was reported on Dequindre near State Fair.

What they’re saying:

“This is historic, regionally, to have this deep of a freeze for this long of a period of time,” Brown said.

According to Brown, the breaks have been the result of frigid temperatures and shifting.

Dozens of water main breaks reported in Detroit

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is going to be busy Tuesday, handling dozens of water main breaks around the city. Department director Gary Brown said a historic deep freeze is leading to a high number of breaks all at once. 

What’s next:

Brown said the department is prioritizing which breaks get repaired first. 

“The prioritization is any person or street that may be completely out of water,” he said, noting that as of Monday night, no residents were out of water.

While crews work to repair the breaks, the water department is urging residents to be patient.

“When you’ve got 30 or 40 water main breaks, we can’t get to everyone at the same time,” Brown said.