Detroit — The Detroit Pistons understand how a winning streak can change the season’s trajectory. The Pistons won 13 consecutive games in October-November, tying the record for the longest streak in franchise history. It catapulted them to championship contention and the top of the Eastern Conference with a 51-19 record.

A handful of teams have had long winning streaks of their own since the Pistons’ 13-gamer. The latest are the Los Angeles Lakers. After defeating the Orlando Magic Saturday night inside Kia Center, the Lakers arrive in Detroit on Monday on a nine-game winning streak. It’s the league’s second-longest current winning streak, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have won 11 consecutive games.

Lakers are legit NBA championship contenders

Similar to the impact of the Pistons’ winning streak in Detroit, the Lakers’ streak has them looking like they’ll be into the final stretch of the season as one of the few teams with a legitimate chance to capture the NBA championship.

“Their health and continuity are different,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “When you go back and look at that stretch (in December, when the Lakers were 5-7), they had guys who were in and out. Now, there has been consistency among the guys on the floor. At the end of the day, they are a talented team.”

Things were different for the Lakers when the Pistons visited Crypto.com Arena in December, taking a 128-106 victory in Los Angeles. The Lakers are 46-25 now, but they were not regarded as a contender at the time.

At the time, the Lakers faced numerous questions about their poor defensive performance. They had the fifth-worst defense in the league, with a net rating of 117.8, while opponents averaged 117.3 points per game. During their nine-game winning streak, however, defense has become one of the primary factors in their success.

Luka Doncic, LeBron James power Lakers’ surge

With a net rating of 113.1, the Lakers have ranked 10th in defense over the past nine games. During their winning streak, they have given up an average of 112.6 points per game. The Lakers’ recent success has been a team effort, but nothing has impacted their second-half surge more than the performances of Luka Doncic and LeBron James.

More: Pistons’ Cade Cunningham could be out for extended period with collapsed lung

Since the trade that sent Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers in February 2025, it appears that he and James have finally found a way to play off each other. It is also worth noting that much of the Lakers’ streak has been due to Austin Reaves playing at an All-Star level, averaging 23.3 points and 6.0 assists over the last nine games.

“We assume that when you put talent on the floor, it is going to work automatically. But talent takes time to gel,” Bickerstaff said. “They have had time to gel and figure one another out. Two great playmakers like LeBron and Luka, learning how to pick their spots with one another, learning how to play off one another, how to make each other better, all of that stuff takes time — and I think you are seeing that now.”

For the first time in his career, James has taken the backseat to a teammate, which has allowed Doncic to play arguably the best basketball of his career. Doncic has been at the forefront of Los Angeles’ surge, averaging 40.0 points on .490%/.403%/.769% shooting splits. He scored 60 points in the Lakers’ victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday night.

When the Lakers take the floor at Little Caesars Arena Monday night, however, Los Angeles may be without Doncic. He received his 16th technical foul of the season, which could result in a one-game suspension if the Lakers’ appeal is denied.

‘Not a ton of dropoff’ in LeBron James’ game

If the Lakers must play without Doncic, count on the 41-year-old James continuing to perform at a high level to keep Los Angeles competitive. Playing a lesser role this season has helped James stay productive in his 23rd NBA season, given that he has averaged 19.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists during the streak.

More: Pistons’ Ausar Thompson, benching and injury behind him, seeks return to form

“His basketball IQ is through the roof, but he is shooting the ball at a higher clip than he did earlier in his career, percentage-wise,” Bickerstaff said. “He still has the ability to get to the paint, play through contact. As amazing as it is, there is not a ton of dropoff from where his skill set is, as well as his ability to make people around him better.”

Without Cade Cunningham (pneumothorax) and Isaiah Stewart (left calf strain), the Pistons will continue to be significantly shorthanded against the Lakers. But despite playing without two of their most important players, the Pistons remain confident they can hand the Lakers their first loss in 19 days.

The Pistons have overcome their injury issues, winning six of their past seven games. They have been successful by cleaning up their post-All-Star slippage, getting back to the standard that once led them to win 13 consecutive wins, and establishing themselves among the league’s elite teams this season.

Lakers at Pistons

▶ Tip-off: 7 p.m. Monday, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

▶ TV/radio: FDSN/97.1

▶ Outlook: Since Cade Cunningham has been out due to a collapsed lung, Daniss Jenkins has performed well in the absence of the All-NBA guard. While coming up just short of his first career triple-double in Friday’s win over the Golden State Warriors, Jenkins has averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds over the last two games.

coty.davis@detroitnews.com

@cotydavis_24

The Engine Room: Injury bug hits Pistons, Cade Cunningham

Coty Davis and Tarohn Finley take a look at the Pistons on verge of milestone 50th win Thursday.

MILWAUKEE – With Milwaukee Brewers baseball returning to American Family Field, fans and officials are preparing for heavy traffic tied to ongoing freeway construction near the stadium.

What we know:

American Family Field sits in the center of the I-94 East-West freeway project, where lane closures and traffic shifts have been in place since November 2025 as crews work to address deteriorating road conditions, traffic demand, high crash rates, and aging bridge design.

With thousands of fans expected for Thursday’s home opener, March 26, both state transportation officials and team leaders say delays will likely increase.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

Officials say traffic patterns around the stadium may take time to adjust as construction and the baseball season overlap.

Local perspective:

“You always get stuck in traffic around this place,” said Max Larsson, a Brewers fan. “Go earlier. There’s always traffic with the construction going on and with it being Opening Day, it’s going to be even worse.”

“It’s going to be a mess. There’s no doubt about that,” said Mike Fleming, a Brewers fan. “It’s going to be a lot worse when the games are on.”

What they’re saying:

“Reopening some of that access around American Family Field. If you are going to the games next week or beyond – just add some extra time,” said Jason Roselle of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. “There is a little bit of traffic shifting out there so it is going to take a little bit longer to get in and out of the stadium.”

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger said the team is taking additional steps to help keep traffic moving, including hiring three sheriff’s deputy crews and a tow truck to quickly clear disabled vehicles from the freeway.

“We’ve got three additional sheriff’s deputy crews that we hired who are going to help with traffic,” he said.

The team says it will be a learning process throughout the season as fans and drivers adjust to changing traffic patterns.

What you can do:

The Brewers also have a dedicated page outlining traffic routes and detours. More can be found at WisDOT’s website as well.

MINNEAPOLIS — Ole Miss women’s basketball had the type of game expected against Minnesota in a NCAA Tournament Round of 32 game — on the opponent’s home court. As anticipated, Sunday’s contest was a low-scoring game with big momentum swings, decisive moments and a large, loud crowd. Sure enough, it came down to last second — the final .8 to be exact — and within mere inches of being an epic moment in Ole Miss’ history. Alas, it’ll go into Minnesota’s history books as a 65-63 victory.

First Half

With both teams being so strong on defense, the expectation that this game would be a defensive battle was indeed correct.

Both sides had a combined 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes and each forced the other’s offense into several awkward possessions. Ole Miss had two fewer turnovers but spent most of the half trailing the Gophers.

Having star player Cotie McMahon on the sideline for most of the first quarter with two fouls didn’t help the Rebels’ offensive struggles. In the first half, she played just ten minutes of the 20. Half. That’s it.

After the game, Coach Yo talked about what it meant to have her out for what ended up being almost 20 minutes of the 40-minute game.

Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin

Minnesota ended the first quarter on a 15-6 run while McMahon was on the bench.

The Gophers shot 50% from the field in the first two quarters, including 4-for-6 on three-pointers. One of those threes was a halfcourt, buzzer-beater that gave them a five-point lead.

The second quarter was better for the Rebels, but even McMahon’s return to action couldn’t help fully close the gap. Several trips to the charity stripe (10-of-12) helped make the deficit just three points at halftime.

Second Half

McMahon’s foul trouble ended up being very costly.

Ole Miss had its chances in the final four minutes after McMahon fouled out of the game with the Rebels leading 59-54. She was a big reason, when in the game, Ole Miss played more like its usual “dictate and disrupt” style, going fast, forcing turnovers and getting to the foul line.The Gophers were the ones who looked out-of-sync. But once McMahon left, so did a key part of the Rebels’ offense.

Minnesota ended the game on an 11-4 run — yet only regained the lead back with 14.2 seconds remaining in the game.

Ole Miss had its chance and they nearly won the game that would have sent them to the Sweet 16.

Latasha Lattimore’s baseline drive for a layup was well drawn up and executed even better. However, it left 3.2 seconds on the clock which was more than enough time for the Gophers to inbound, dribble a few steps and drain the game-winning bucket.

Even then, Ole Miss wasn’t beaten. With 0.8 seconds on the clock, the Rebels drew up another play that gave Tianna Thompson a good look for a three. The shot, though, bounced off the front of the rim and the season comes to an end with the 65-63 loss.

Give Coach Yo’s Rebels credit. They never quit. When the regular season ended with a four-game losing streak and everyone had written them off, they dominated at the SEC Tournament, easily handling Gonzaga in the first round and come up just inches short of another Sweet 16 trip.

Team 51 didn’t achieve all of its goals, but it should be proud of the season it had and look towards a bright future for this program.

Ole Miss Leaders vs. Minnesota

• Points: Sira Thienou, 18
• Rebounds: Christeen Iwuala, 6
• Assists: Cotie McMahon, 4

Next Up

The NCAA transfer portal opens April 6 for 15 days. With seven seniors on the current roster, look for Coach Yo to be very active — and very successful — yet again. Of course the Rebels do have some very talented players — like sophomores Sira Thienou and Tianna Thompson — who will be anchors for Team 52.

Related