Cade Cunningham nearly had a triple-double, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Charlotte Hornets 110-104 on Monday night and ended Charlotte’s nine-game winning streak after two players on each team were ejected for their role in a third-quarter fight.

The Hornets’ Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges were tossed, along with the Pistons’ Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart.

Duren was fouled by Diabate on a drive to the basket, then Duren turned to be face-to-face with Diabate. Duren then struck Diabate in the face with an open palm, igniting the scuffle.

Diabate threw a punch at Duren in retaliation and then tried to chase after him after Duren walked away.

Bridges then threw a punch at Duren, and Stewart left the bench to confront Bridges.

The mood of the game remained tense thereafter, and Hornets coach Charles Lee was ejected in the fourth quarter after he had to be held back while yelling at officials over a no-call.

Best angle of Beef Stew vs. Bridges.

Watch Duncan Robinson for comedic effect. pic.twitter.com/9OjSDpzvLe

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) February 10, 2026

After the dust had settled, Detroit held off Charlotte’s four-quarter comeback attempt, with Cunningham and Tobias Harris making key buckets late.

Cunningham finished with 33 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Duncan Robinson had 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting for the Pistons (39-13), who cushioned their lead atop the Eastern Conference and pulled to within half a game of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the NBA.

Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 24 points, while LaMelo Ball and rookie Kon Kneuppel each added 20 points.

 

Star backcourt powers Cavs’ comeback

James Harden hit a late game-tying 3-pointer, Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points, including two free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to edge the Denver Nuggets 119-117.

Harden finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in his second game since being traded to the Cavs, and his step-back triple tied the game at 117-117 with 32 seconds left.

Mitchell was fouled by Jamal Murray in the last second to set up the go-ahead free throws. Mitchell added 10 assists, two steals and two blocked shots for the Cavaliers, who have won eight of their last nine.

Denver led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter but shot 6 of 18 from the field in the final frame.

Nikola Jokić had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his NBA-leading 19th triple-double of the season, but he missed a potential game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Murray finished with 17 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who have dropped four of their last five games and are just 2-5 in their last seven home games.

 

Timberwolves roll past short-handed Hawks

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points, Julius Randle registered a triple-double and the Minnesota Timberwolves handled the Atlanta Hawks 138-116 after a dominant second quarter.

The win put Timberwolves (33-22) back on track after they had lost three of their last four games and were 5-8 in their previous 13.

Edwards scored 21 of his points in the first half, as Minnesota won the second quarter 40-22 for an 81-56 halftime lead.

Randle finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, while trade-deadline acquisition Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 points off the bench in his second game with the Wolves.

CJ McCollum scored 38 points to lead the Hawks, who were playing without Jalen Johnson (left knee inflammation), Dyson Daniels (right ankle inflammation) and newly acquired Jonathan Kuminga (left knee bone bruise).

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Atlanta while facing his former team.