Next on the to-do list for the Charlotte Hornets is picking up their 10th consecutive victory.

That will be the objective against the visiting Detroit Pistons on Monday night.

“It means the world because I’ve been through a lot with this team,” Hornets forward Miles Bridges said. “I’ve been through the lows, I’ve been to the play-in, and now I think we’re at the highest of our highs and want to keep going.”

It seems different even from rookie guard Kon Knueppel’s vantage point.

“We’re playing meaningful basketball, meaningful games,” Knueppel said. “And so every game, it’s going to be kind of looking at the standings and all that, and we’re battling for playoff position as we hit the home stretch of the season after the All-Star break.”

When the Hornets won 126-119 Saturday night at Atlanta, Bridges had 26 points and Knueppel had 23 points. Knueppel made six 3-point shots. That matched the Charlotte franchise’s longest winning streak since the 1998-99 season.

The Hornets also claimed the longest active winning streak in the NBA.

The Pistons have been humming along as well, winners of six of their last eight games. That includes Friday night’s 118-80 home rout of the New York Knicks.

The Pistons hold the best record in the Eastern Conference, so this should be a challenge for the Hornets along the lines of their Jan. 31 home win over San Antonio and Thursday’s win at Houston.

“We’ve shown that we can beat teams that are good teams, playoff teams, and we want to keep that going,” Bridges said.

Charlotte has shown necessary elements that would allow it to rise in the standings. The Hornets have climbed from 12th to 10th in the Eastern Conference — the final play-in spot — during their winning streak.

“It’s about learning along the journey and embracing every part that comes with it,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “… The care factor in that locker room between the players. The ability to want to adapt. We’ve thrown a lot of different lineups at them.”

Cade Cunningham has been the big source of offense for Detroit, leading the team in scoring in five of the last eight games. He averages 25.1 points and 9.7 assists per game.

The Hornets will have to be attentive defensively, where they’ve shown improvement.

“The communication got better, our defensive execution and coverages were a lot cleaner,” Lee said of the most-recent game. “The physicality on the boards, it takes all five guys to participate.”

The Pistons also are working to see how newly acquired Kevin Huerter fits into the plans. He played late in the Knicks game and provided eight points in eight minutes.

“I don’t want to put him into a situation where he’s uncomfortable and he can’t succeed,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

Huerter played briefly in that game without a practice with the team. So the weekend should have provided an opportunity to groom him for whichever role he lands with the Pistons.

“We need to get some time so he can be successful when his number is called,” Bickerstaff said.

The Pistons will monitor the status of Jaren Duren, the team’s No. 2 scorer (17.7 ppg) and leading rebounder (10.5 rpg) who missed Friday’s game because of knee soreness.

On Monday, Detroit begins a stretch of four consecutive road games that will be interrupted by the All-Star break.

–Field Level Media

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points and had eight assists to lead the visiting New York Knicks to a 111-89 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

The victory ended Boston’s five-game winning streak and moved the Knicks into a second-place tie with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings. Both teams are five games behind Detroit.

Josh Hart added 19 points for New York, which received 12 points from Jose Alvarado in his debut with the Knicks. New York acquired Alvarado in a trade with New Orleans on Thursday.

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds as New York won for the ninth time in 10 games.

The Celtics shot 7 of 41 from 3-point territory (17.1%), and the 89 points were the fewest Boston has scored in a game this season.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 26 points and Derrick White finished with 19. Boston received 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists from Baylor Scheierman.

New York’s OG Anunoby missed his second straight game with toe soreness on his right foot. Anunoby is averaging 16.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 41 games this season (all starts).

The Knicks led 35-24 after the first quarter. Brunson had 15 points in the quarter, when Boston was 2 of 13 from 3-point territory.

New York stretched its lead to 17 points with 8:02 remaining in the second quarter, but the Celtics were within seven, 60-53, at halftime. The Knicks shot 60% from the field (24 of 40) in the first half.

The Knicks scored the final seven points in the third quarter and held an 85-68 lead entering the fourth. Boston was 0 for 10 from 3-point range in the third.

New York led by as many as 24 points in the final quarter.

The Knicks have won two of three meetings with the Celtics this season.

–Field Level Media

Aday Mara scored a career-high 24 points as No. 2 Michigan cruised to its eighth straight win with an 82-61 verdict over Ohio State on Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio.

Mara made 11 of 16 field goal attempts and grabbed six rebounds while Yaxel Lendeborg had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Wolverines (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten) as they maintained the league lead and extended the best start in school history. Trey McKenney added 12 points and Morez Johnson Jr. contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Bruce Thornton had 16 points, Devin Royal 15 and Christoph Tilly 10 for the Buckeyes (15-8, 7-6 Big Ten), who never led while falling to Michigan for the second time in 17 days.

Michigan took a 4-2 lead and never looked back to take a 44-34 advantage into the locker room.

A critical juncture came when the Wolverines’ Mara, Nimari Burnett and L.J. Cason nailed 3-pointers in a 1:42 stretch to turn a 26-24 edge into a 35-26 lead.

Michigan extended its lead to 44-32 as the Buckeyes hit one of their final seven shots in the first half.

Tilly got off to a hot start with eight points in the first 3:35 of the game, but he did not score the remainder of the half and went to the bench with his third foul with two minutes to go.

The Wolverines won the battle of the boards 44-31, with 17 of them on the offensive glass that helped them outscore the Buckeyes 42-20 in the paint.

Michigan won 74-62 on Jan. 23 in Ann Arbor in the first of the home-and-home series that second-year Ohio State coach Jake Diebler pushed for after the schools played once last season. He enlisted the help of Michigan coach Dusty May to ensure the rivalry made the conference’s protected series list.

Michigan increased its 10-point halftime lead to 54-39 on Johnson’s fast-break dunk after a block by Lendeborg. The Buckeyes did not get closer than 11 points thereafter.

–Field Level Media