MIAMI (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 29 points, Duncan Robinson had 18 in his return to Miami and the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons held off the Heat 138-135 on Saturday night to snap a two-game skid.
Miami was down by 22 with 8:09 left, then got within 133-131 when Bam Adebayo scored on a putback with 34 seconds remaining. But Cunningham scored on the next Detroit possession and the Pistons escaped.
Tobias Harris was 10 for 12 from the field and scored 26 for the Pistons, who are 16-4 — their best 20-game start since opening 17-3 in 2005-06. Detroit shot 59% and had 76 points in the paint.
Andrew Wiggins scored 31 for Miami, which got 28 from Norman Powell and 24 from Tyler Herro. Adebayo had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
It was the first time Robinson was back in Miami as an opponent; he was traded to Detroit this past summer. He spent his first seven seasons with the Heat and his story — not even a starter for some of his high school career, beginning college at Division III Williams before heading to Michigan and then going undrafted before becoming Miami's career 3-point leader — is one Heat coach Erik Spoelstra counts as one of his favorites.
“It’s one of the great all-time Miami Heat success stories," Spoelstra said. "We all are extremely happy for him. He does look strange in blue. It doesn’t look normal. But that’s life in the NBA.”
Robinson made a 3 that started a 13-0 Detroit run to end the first quarter and break what was a 23-all tie. Miami was within 10 late in the third, but a 22-10 spurt by the Pistons pushed the margin out to 121-99 with 8:09 left.
Pistons: Host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
Heat: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
We're excited to announce our India Community Travel in Spring 2026! Join this virtual Zoom … Read moreTravel to India Information Session (Online)
“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.