Sports
Pistons return home to face inexperienced Nets
Nov 7, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) looks to drive past Brooklyn Nets guard Tyrese Martin (13) in the second quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The top team in the Eastern Conference gets, at least on paper, a breather on the scheduled Sunday. The Detroit Pistons return home from a West Coast trip to host the rookie-laden Brooklyn Nets.
The Pistons responded from an ugly loss to Phoenix on Thursday with a 131-124 victory over Golden State on Friday. That boosted the Pistons’ record to 35-12.
“It’s the NBA, it’s a lot of games, but that was just unacceptable,” reserve guard Daniss Jenkins told the Detroit News. “That’s just not who we are. They (the Suns) came out and beat us at our own game, and that’s unacceptable from all levels. We just knew we had to come out and put out a better performance. We’re gonna lose the game, but not like that. So, we all just wanted to come out and just show ourselves that we can be better than that.”
The Pistons had a 25-10 advantage in fast-break points and a 62-40 advantage in paint points against the Warriors.
“I thought the tempo we played at, the ability to take advantage of what was there, I thought they did a great job of that. And just sharing the ball, playing at tempo, executing the gameplan, all those things, I thought we did that early, and it was good for us,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
When Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren are playing well, the Pistons are tough to beat. Cunningham had 29 points and 11 assists, while Duren powered for 21 points and 13 rebounds.
“He’s awesome. He reminds me of Luka and James Harden,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Cunningham, an All-Star starter. “Just kind of a one-man offense, running everything through him. He’s a great, great player, really coming into his own.”
The Nets are looking for a star to emerge from their handful of first-round picks last June. Egor Demin, a lottery pick, has shown flashes of turning into that type of player.
He racked up his first double-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists in a 109-99 victory over Utah on Friday. He also set an NBA rookie record by making a 3-pointer for his 34th consecutive game.
“It means a lot,” Demin said during a postgame TV interview. “It’s the first second game of a back-to-back we’ve won, the first (win) without (Michael Porter Jr.). He’s a big, big, big part of our team, but we’ve got to be able to function without him, too. So that win means a lot, especially for me being back home I can say so. It’s pretty fun.”
Porter Jr., the team’s leading scorer, missed the game due to personal reasons. Demin was part of a very green lineup that also included Nolan Traore and Danny Wolf. It worked well enough to snap the team’s seven-game losing streak.
Cunningham and Duren played big roles in the first meeting between the teams on Nov. 7. Cunningham poured in 34 points, and Duren supplied 30 in a 125-107 victory. Porter Jr. led Brooklyn with 28 points.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cardinals stave off Dodgers’ rally for 6th straight win
May 2, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) hits a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images Jordan Walker slugged a two-run homer among his two hits and Michael McGreevy tossed six scoreless innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory.
McGreevy (2-2) allowed three hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Right-hander Ryne Stanek and lefty JoJo Romero each pitched a scoreless inning before the Dodgers scored two runs on four straight hits against righty Riley O’Brien in the ninth.
O’Brien recorded two quick outs before giving up back-to-back infield singles to Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernandez. Max Muncy and Andy Pages followed with RBI singles before O’Brien struck out pinch hitter Dalton Rushing for his ninth save.
Los Angeles lost its fourth straight game and has scored three or fewer runs in seven of its last 11 games.
St. Louis took a 3-0 lead on four hits in the third inning. Ivan Herrera hit a leadoff double against Roki Sasaki (1-3) and scored on Alec Burleson’s double to right field.
Walker followed with a two-run blast to left field. The 372-foot shot was Walker’s 10th homer of the season and second in his last three games.
The Dodgers had plenty of early traffic on the basepaths against McGreevy, but they were held scoreless while hitting into four double plays in the first five innings.
Los Angeles put two runners on with one out in the second inning before Pages struck out and Hyeseong Kim grounded out.
The pattern continued in the third inning, when Alex Freeland hit a leadoff single and second baseman JJ Wetherholt started a double play with a diving catch on Shohei Ohtani’s liner.
Sasaki gave up three runs on five hits with two walks over six innings. He retired the final 10 batters he faced and threw a career-high 104 pitches.
Stanek replaced right-hander McGreevy to begin the seventh inning and retired two batters before Hernandez singled and Muncy walked. Both were stranded when Pages struck out.
The Dodgers were held without a home run for the fifth straight game and have hit a total of three homers in their past 11 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Saba Lobjanidze's brace sparks Atlanta over Montreal
May 2, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta United midfielder Saba Lobjanidze (11) reacts to his goal against the CF Montréal in the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images Saba Lobjanidze scored a brace and Emmanuel Latte Lath netted the match-winner late in the first half as Atlanta United defeated visiting CF Montreal 3-1 on Saturday evening.
Alexey Miranchuk had two assists while Pedro Amador and Cooper Sanchez added an assist apiece for Atlanta (3-7-1, 10 points), which won its third straight match across all competitions and second straight in MLS play. It also snapped a four-match home winless streak (0-3-1).
Montreal (3-7-0, 9 points) saw a two-match win streak come to an end while its road losing streak reached four. It also finished the match with 10 men after Brayan Vera received a red card in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
Latte Lath put Atlanta ahead in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time thanks to an interception by Sanchez. The Ivorian striker played a ball forward to Miranchuk, then scored on Miranchuk’s return pass to make it 2-1.
Lobjanidze upped Atlanta United’s lead to 3-1 in the 50th minute, scoring off Sanchez’s assist.
Atlanta equalized in the 41st minute with Lobjanidze’s first goal of the year. After receiving a pass from Miranchuk, Lobjanidze’s shot deflected off Montreal goalkeeper Thomas Gillier’s hand and trickled past the goal line, tying the match at 1-1.
Matty Longstaff scored Montreal’s lone goal of the evening in the sixth minute.
Lucas Hoyos finished the evening with four saves. Gillier stopped two Atlanta shots.
Atlanta United won back-to-back MLS regular-season matches for the first time since May 24 and 28, 2025. They have outscored opponents 7-2 during their win streak.
Montreal lost for the first time under interim head coach Phillipe Eullafroy.
Miranchuk has two goals and two assists in his last three matches across all competitions.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Late penalty extends New England's unbeaten streak vs. Charlotte
May 2, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Revolution forward Luca Langoni (41) dribbles the ball against Charlotte FC midfielder Djibril Diani (28) in the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Edward Finan-Imagn Images Carles Gil’s 97th-minute penalty kick lifted the New England Revolution to a tense 1-0 victory over Charlotte FC Saturday night in Foxborough, Mass.
The Revolution (6-3-1, 19 points) broke through during stoppage time after several minutes marked by defensive gridlock. The win extends the Revs’ unbeaten streak to six league games.
Matt Turner made three saves and kept a clean sheet for the Revolution, who outshot Charlotte (4-5-2, 14 points) 14-7. Charlotte keeper Kristijan Kahlina made three saves.
The Revs faced late drama when Charlotte’s Brandt Bronico was called for a handball in the box in the dying minutes of stoppage time, and the referee failed to call an advantage on the play, which would’ve counted Diego Fagundez’s goal.
However, Gil calmly sent Kahlina the wrong way and scored the ensuing penalty to give the Revs the late winner. The goal is Gil’s third of the season.
Charlotte manager Dean Smith has faced many questions about his team’s misfiring offense, and they remain unanswered. The team’s usually prolific offense struggled to create chances in the final third, and when they did, they failed to convert.
Charlotte’s biggest chance of the first half came when Idan Toklomati received the ball just 16 yards away from the goal with a clear shot. However, Toklomati slammed his shot against the crossbar, leaving the game scoreless in the 37th minute.
The two sides struggled to challenge each other throughout the match, settling for long-range, low-quality shots.
Charlotte’s Wilfried Zaha and Revs defender Mamadou Fofana had to be separated by teammates after a brief shouting match and a couple of shoves in the second half. Zaha, who then argued with New England manager Marko Mitrovic, was booked. The yellow card is his sixth in just nine league appearances.
Charlotte nearly found an equalizer in the game’s dying minutes when Morrison Agyemang headed a shot from short range. The shot seemed destined for the upper corner of the net, but Turner deflected the ball to preserve the Revs’ victory.
–Field Level Media
