Pistons tame Wolves despite Edwards' heroics

Cade Cunningham scored 40 points to lead the Detroit Pistons, which withstood a career-high 53 points by Anthony Edwards to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105 on Saturday.

Edwards, who had voiced frustration after averaging just 16.3 points over the last three games in the face of strong double team defense, found plenty of ways to score.

He connected on 16 of his 31 shots from the field, including 10 of 15 from three-point range, and made 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts.

But, he had little scoring support, and the Timberwolves trailed virtually all the way against a Pistons team powered by Cunningham, who notched his season high in points and added six rebounds and nine assists.

Unlike Edwards, Cunningham had plenty of support. Malik Beasley added 23 points off the bench for the Pistons, Tobias Harris scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Ausar Thompson finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.

"The effort, from the beginning of the game to the end, I thought, was phenomenal," the Pistons' head coach JB Bickerstaff said of his team's performance.

Beasley said the victory was the most important thing.

"At the end of the day, we won," Beasley said in an on-court interview. "He (Edwards) can have 100 points for all I care, we got a 'W'."

Agencies via Xinhua