DETROIT — Cade Cunningham scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the third quarter to help the Detroit Pistons erase a 22-point deficit and beat the Utah Jazz 126-116 on Monday night.

Saddiq Bey added 29 points for Detroit, which is 4-2 in 2022 after finishing 2021 with 18 losses in 19 games. Lead assistant coach Rex Kalamian took charge with Coach Dwane Casey having entered COVID-19 protocol.

Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points for Utah, and Hassan Whiteside had a season-high 21 points as well as 14 rebounds.

Utah (28-13), which had won 10 straight against the Pistons, led by 22 in the second quarter but was outscored 94-62 in the final 2 1/2 quarters.

Utah trailed 90-84 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but scored the next nine points to take a 3-point lead with 9:53 to play. Trey Lyles and Cory Joseph hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Detroit up 102-96, and although Utah scored on its next two possessions, Cunningham answered with a 3-pointer, a layup and a free throw.

That put Detroit up 108-100, and the Jazz never got back within one possession.

The Jazz led 54-32 midway through the second quarter, thanks to 18 points from Whiteside. The Pistons answered with a 16-6 run. It was 61-48 at the half. Cunningham continued the Detroit rally in the third, putting up 18 points and three assists as the Pistons took the lead.

76ERS 111, ROCKETS 91: Joel Embiid had 31 points and eight rebounds to lead Philadelphia to a win in Houston, the 76ers seventh straight victory.

Embiid turned in his seventh straight 30-point game and also had six assists. He was 9 of 16 from the field and made all 13 of his free throws.

He’s the second player in NBA history to score exactly 31 points in four straight games. Bob McAdoo was the first to do it for the Buffalo Braves in November 1973. Embiid entered Monday averaging 26.8 points per game, sixth in the NBA.

KNICKS 111, SPURS 96: RJ Barrett scored 31 points in his first home game since hitting his first career buzzer beater, leading New York to a  victory over San Antonio at Madison Square Garden.

Evan Fournier returned from a one-game absence with 18 points for the Knicks, who broke open a game that had been close throughout by outscoring the Spurs 18-2 to start the fourth quarter.

Barrett had five straight points to open the final period, which started with the Knicks ahead just 82-75. By the time the Knicks hit three consecutive 3-pointers to end their spurt, it was 100-77.

HORNETS 103, BUCKS 99: LaMelo Ball hit the go-ahead basket with 15 seconds left, Terry Rozier scored 27 points and Charlotte beat NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in three nights, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ball scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, and Miles Bridges added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, who have won six of eight games and improved to 12-5 at home.

Khris Middleton had 27 points and 11 assists, and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, who also lost 114-106 to the Hornets on Saturday night.

NOTES

TRADE: The Denver Nuggets finalized a deal with Detroit that will send big man Bol Bol to the Pistons.

In exchange, the Nuggets received guard Rodney McGruder along with a 2022 second-round pick via Brooklyn.

The 7-foot-2 Bol is the son of the late Manute Bol, who played 10 years in the NBA. Bol Bol was the 44th overall pick by Miami in the 2019 NBA draft and was acquired by Denver in a draft-night trade. He played in 53 games over three seasons with the Nuggets and averaged 2.7 points. He shot 47.8% from the field.

McGruder saw action in 17 games for the Pistons this season. He averaged 2.5 points and 1.6 rebounds. McGruder went undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft after playing at Kansas State. He played overseas in Hungary in 2013-14 and had G League stints before signing with Miami.

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