Pistons clinch No. 1 East
The Detroit Pistons clinched a playoff spot and now sit atop the Eastern Conference after a win over the Warriors — one of the first three teams (with OKC and San Antonio) to lock in postseason berths. Oklahoma City has already secured the West’s No. 1 seed, while the West race tightened with Minnesota dropping from 4th to 6th after a loss without Anthony Edwards. (cbssports.com) (ad-hoc-news.de)
Detroit improved to 51-19 with 12 regular-season games remaining, giving them a four-game cushion over Boston (47-23) in the East standings. (ESPN) (espn.com) Jalen Duren scored 23 points and Daniss Jenkins added 22 points with eight assists in Friday’s 115-101 victory at Little Caesars Arena. (ESPN) (espn.com) Ausar Thompson recorded a career-high seven steals and the Pistons forced a season-best 27 turnovers, which HoopsHype/Yahoo counted for 32 points and helped Detroit score 74 points in the paint. (Yahoo/HoopsHype) (newsbreak.com) The win came with All-Star guard Cade Cunningham sidelined after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung; team reports say Cunningham will miss an extended period (at least two weeks), and Jenkins has started in his place. (MLive/The Rookie Wire) (mlive.com) Detroit’s surge completes a rapid turnaround from being the league’s worst team two seasons ago to a 51-win club this year, a shift the New York Times and local coverage have highlighted as one of the NBA’s steepest recoveries. (New York Times) (nytimes.com) The Western race tightened elsewhere: Minnesota — with Anthony Edwards ruled out in the short term — lost a key game that pushed them down in the conference standings, a slide reflected in updated FOX Sports standings showing the Timberwolves at 43-28. (MSN/CBS/FOX Sports) (msn.com)
