Bojan Bogdanovic had 22 points and nine rebounds, Alec Burks scored 21 and the visiting Detroit Pistons ended a seven-game losing streak with a 110-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

Kevin Knox II had 17 points and Marvin Bagley III scored 14 for Detroit, which improved to 1-10 on the road this season.

The Pistons played without Cade Cunningham (left shin soreness) for the seventh straight game, and Saddiq Bey (sprained right ankle) missed his second in a row.

Denver’s Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in his return from a three-game absence caused by the NBA’s health and safety protocol. Michael Porter Jr. scored 18, Aaron Gordon had 17 points after missing three games due to an illness, Bruce Brown finished with 11 and Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 10 each.

Murray, back after sitting out two games due to health and safety protocol, added eight assists.

Detroit led by two after three quarters and quickly increased the gap to 92-84 behind eight combined points from Burks and Hamidou Diallo.

With the Nuggets down by 12, Denver’s Zeke Nnaji scored the next four points, but a 3-pointer by Cory Joseph made it 99-88, and Bogdanovic hit a leaner to put Detroit ahead by 13 with 6:36 to go.

It was 103-93 when Denver rallied. Gordon hit two free throws, Murray made a layup, Caldwell-Pope sank a 3-pointer and Jokic added a basket and hit 1 of 2 foul shots make it 104-103.

Burks sank two free throws with 1:36 left, and after the Nuggets turned it over, Burks drained an 18-footer with 50.6 seconds left to make it 108-103.

Jokic hit two free throws with 46.1 seconds left. Burks traveled, and Jokic hit a layup with 13.2 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 108-107.

Bogdanovic was fouled and made both free throws with 8.2 seconds left for a three-point lead. Murray was fouled with 2.2 seconds remaining. He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second. Gordon got the rebound, but his baseline fadeway was off.

Detroit took a 58-57 edge into halftime and the lead fluctuated throughout the third quarter. The Pistons brought an 83-81 lead into the fourth.

–Field Level Media

De’Aaron Fox continued his hot shooting with a team-high 32 points, Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter aided in a 3-point barrage with four apiece and the Sacramento Kings won their seventh straight game Tuesday night, 113-109 over the host Memphis Grizzlies.

The reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, Fox hit 11 of 21 shots and 5 of 8 3-point attempts, guiding the Kings to an opening win on a three-game trip.

Ja Morant returned from an ankle injury to put up a game-high 34 points for the Grizzlies, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

After a tight first half that ended with Sacramento up 64-59, the Kings never trailed over the final 24 minutes. They were up 104-93 after Fox’s floater with just 2:51 to go before Memphis made a final push.

Morant hit three straight shots and Dillon Brooks dropped in a pair of free throws, the latter getting the Grizzlies within 104-101 with 1:16 left.

Down three, Memphis had a chance to tie when Morant was fouled on a 3-point shot attempt with 1.7 seconds remaining. But he misfired on his first try, then intentionally missed his third attempt, after which Fox completed the scoring with two foul shots of his own.

Fox complemented his sixth 30-point night of the season with eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Sabonis led the Kings in rebounds (13) and assists (eight) while adding nine points. Barnes finished with 26 points, Huerter 18, Malik Monk 14 and Chimezie Metu 10.

Fox hit five 3-pointers as the Kings outscored the hosts 45-24 from beyond the arc.

Morant had seven rebounds and six assists to go with his eighth 30-point game of the season.

Steven Adams was the game’s leading rebounder with 16 for the Grizzlies, while Jaren Jackson Jr. chipped in 22 points, Brooks 14 and John Konchar 10.

–Field Level Media

Tobias Harris shook off a minor ankle scare early in the third quarter to score a season-high 24 points as the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers beat the visiting Brooklyn Nets 115-106 on Tuesday night.

Harris became Philadelphia’s top scoring option due to the absences of Joel Embiid (left mid-foot sprain), James Harden (strained right foot) and Tyrese Maxey (broken left foot). Harris, who had missed the previous two games with a sore left hip, appeared to get injured again when he grabbed his right ankle in pain in the opening minute of the third after colliding with Kevin Durant under the rim after missing a short jumper.

After getting the ankle taped up, Harris scored 18 of his 24 points. He hit 10 of 21 shots as the Sixers shot 43.4 percent and survived allowing 55 percent.

In a postgame interview with TNT, Harris said he meditated in the locker room while getting his ankle treated.

De’Anthony Melton added a season-best 22 points in his third straight start. Reserve Paul Reed, who scored 10 points in his first 13 games this year, collected season highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Georges Niang and Shake Milton contributed 16 points apiece as Philadelphia dominated the glass by a 49-35 margin and scored 20 second-chance points.

Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 23 points, but Durant finished with 20 — held under 25 for the first time this season. Nic Claxton added 12 while Ben Simmons collected 11 points and 11 assists while hearing boos throughout the night in his return to Philadelphia.

After Melton’s contested 3 at the horn put Philadelphia up 63-57 at halftime, the Sixers briefly lost the lead when Claxton’s dunk put Brooklyn up 69-68 with 7:32 remaining in the third. Harris hit a dunk and a jumper for a 75-69 lead with about five minutes left and then sent the Sixers into the fourth with an 85-82 lead after hitting a 19-footer with 4.6 seconds left.

Consecutive putbacks by Reed and Melton opened a 96-87 lead with 8:10 remaining. Harris then made an open 3 for a 99-89 lead when Durant hesitated on a defensive switch a little over a minute later.

Three straight hoops by Milton gave Philadelphia a 111-97 lead with 3:08 left, prompting the Nets to empty their bench.

–Field Level Media

Golden State Warriors fans hope to see the Klay Thompson they witnessed on television last week when the defending champions open a three-day, two-game homestand with their first matchup of the season against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

The Pacific Division rivals both were missing key players in their last outing and came away with different results.

The Clippers were without Paul George (strained right hamstring) and Luke Kennard (strained right calf) when they completed a 3-0 homestand with a 121-114 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Norman Powell and Reggie Jackson led the way with 30 and 27 points, respectively.

The Clippers also got eight points and five assists from Kawhi Leonard in just his third game since returning from nearly a month-long absence due to soreness in his surgically repaired right knee. The five-time All-Star has played no more than 25 minutes in any game during his comeback and has averaged just 8.3 points and 4.3 assists in the last three games.

Despite regular lineup shuffling, the Clippers have counted upon depth to get the season off to a winning start.

“Coach (Tyronn Lue) has been on us about making plays and playing for each other, offensively and defensively,” said Powell, who ranks second on the team to George in total points despite making just five starts in 18 games. “Talking, communicating, defensively the different switches and coverages that we’re in … trusting one another, trusting the pass offensively. That’s the style of play we got to continue building.”

Assuming Leonard and Thompson both play Wednesday, it would be the first time they’ve gone head-to-head since Leonard joined the Clippers in July of 2019.

The last time they shared a court was Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, when Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to a championship on the same night as Thompson blew out his left knee, beginning a two-year absence from the NBA.

Thompson returned to face the Clippers twice last season, but it was Leonard who missed those games. Leonard sat out the entire 2021-22 season with a torn right ACL.

Both players remain on minutes restrictions. Thompson played 36 minutes Sunday at Houston, his second most this season, then sat out the second night of a back-to-back Monday at New Orleans.

Leonard, meanwhile, was limited to 23 minutes in Monday’s win over the Jazz.

Thompson had 20 points in the Warriors’ most recent home game – last Friday against the New York Knicks – before turning back the clock at Houston. He exploded for 10 3-pointers against the Rockets and 41 points in Golden State’s first road win of the season.

Playing without Thompson, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, all of whom were resting, the Warriors were drubbed 128-83 on the road Monday by the New Orleans Pelicans.

Thompson figures to be beaming with confidence in his first outing since his big night in Houston.

“I really let the trolls get to me,” he said of his season start that featured 33.6-percent shooting on 3-pointers before Sunday’s 10-for-13. “I had just a revelation where I was like, ‘Man, just be you and everything will play out.’ Criticize me all you want. But I know how great I am and what I’m capable of, and I think real Warriors fans know that as well.”

–Field Level Media

The Milwaukee Bucks look to continue their recent dominance over their I-94 rival as they host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

The Bucks have won 16 of the last 17 regular season matchups against Chicago, as well as ending the Bulls season last year in the first round of the playoffs.

The teams look to start a winning streak after picking up solid wins at home on Monday night. The Bucks took down the Portland Trailblazers 119-111 and the Bulls had arguably one of their better performances of the year when they ended the Boston Celtics nine-game winning streak in a 121-107 victory.

Chicago is 2-0 against the reigning Eastern Conference champion Celtics this season, with both victories at home. The Bulls went a combined 1-15 against the Miami Heat, Celtics, Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers last season.

“One of the things we talked about before the season had started was that against the top four teams in the east and the west we didn’t play particularly well,” Billy Donovan said. “I think we’ve been way more competitive in those games than we were a year ago.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks with 30.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, the fifth best rebounding number in the NBA heading into play Tuesday. Antetokounmpo scored 37 points on 16-of-24 shooting from the floor Monday despite being added to the injury report pregame with left calf tightness.

“It feels good to see the ball go in and be able to do what you’ve been working on,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m trying to improve physically but I don’t ever think I’m 100 percent, but slowly trying to get there.”

The Bucks also got 17 points from Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen, while Brook Lopez, the NBA’s leading shot-blocker at 2.8 per game, blocked five shots while scoring 14 points.

The Bulls are led in scoring by DeMar DeRozan at 25.4 points per game to go along with 4.2 assists. DeRozan scored 28 points Monday and Zach LaVine scored 22. Nikola Vucevic, the NBA’s third-leading rebounder at 11.8 per game, grabbed 13 boards and scored 12 points.

Key role player Pat Connaughton made his season debut for the Bucks on Monday after returning from right calf soreness. He scored seven points while grabbing two boards and picked up two steals in 16 minutes.

Khris Middleton (wrist) remains out for the Bucks but both he and Wesley Matthews (hamstring) were assigned to the G-League’s Wisconsin Herd on Monday to continue their rehab. Middleton has yet to make his debut this season.

For Chicago, Lonzo Ball remains out with a knee injury. Additionally, Goran Dragic struggled through Monday’s game due to a neck injury. There is no word on Dragic’s status for Wednesday.

“I think he’s got like a stinger, he had some numbness going down his arm and into his elbow,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said. “I just didn’t think he looked great out there and he was bothered by it.”

–Field Level Media