NBA Notes: Pistons, Cade Cunningham, Magic, Nuggets, Nikola Jokic

Pistons

Cade Cunningham returned to action Wednesday after missing time with a collapsed lung and looked comfortable in limited minutes, finishing with 13 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in the Pistons’ 137-111 win over the Bucks. He played 26 minutes in short bursts and shot 6-of-11 from the field.

Jalen Duren led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Duncan Robinson added 20. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff kept his starters on a light workload, with none exceeding 30 minutes.

Detroit improved to 58-22 with the win, taking six of its past eight games. The club remains in position to reach 60 victories for the first time since the 2005-06 season, needing wins in its final two games vs. Charlotte and Indiana.

The Pistons built a 75-57 halftime lead behind Cunningham and Duren, then extended the margin in the third quarter before both teams emptied their benches in the fourth. Isaiah Stewart also returned from a calf injury and contributed eight points.

Magic

Paolo Banchero recorded 20 points and eight rebounds, and Desmond Bane added 18 points and six assists as the Magic defeated the Timberwolves 132-120 on Wednesday.

Franz Wagner chipped in 17 points, while Goga Bitadze posted a 14-point, 15-rebound double-double off the bench. Orlando has now won four straight games.

At 44-36, the Magic moved into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, though they remain in a tightly packed standings race that could see them finish anywhere from sixth to ninth. They’ll wrap up the regular season with road games in Chicago and Boston.

Orlando pulled away late in the first half, turning a 47-47 tie into a 63-53 lead behind a Wagner scoring burst. A 22-6 run in the third quarter, fueled in part by Jalen Suggs, helped the Magic open up a lead as large as 24. They shot 53.7% from the field in the win.

Nuggets

Nikola Jokic registered his 34th triple-double of the season on Wednesday, finishing with 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 136-119 victory over the Grizzlies. The win was Denver’s 10th straight.

Jamal Murray led the team in scoring with 26 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added 14 points in his 1,000th career NBA game.

Denver improved to 52-28 and strengthened its hold on the No. 3 seed in the West, holding a 1.5-game lead over the Lakers. The Nuggets will close the season with matchups against the conference’s top two teams.

Jokic, who has already secured a second consecutive season averaging a triple-double, recorded the 198th triple-double of his career during the third quarter. He didn’t play in the fourth.

Denver took control with a dominant stretch late in the third, outscoring Memphis 31-13 over the final 7:51 of the period. The Grizzlies briefly cut the deficit to single digits early in the fourth, but the Nuggets quickly pushed the lead back to 21 and coasted to the finish.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.