Dillon Brooks scores career-high 40 on his own T-shirt night, leading Suns past Pistons 114-96

PHOENIX (AP) — Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 40 points, Grayson Allen added 24 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons 114-96 on Thursday night.

The Suns kept a comfortable lead through much of the fourth, winning for the fifth time in seven games. They are 10 games above .500 for the first time this season at 29-19.

Brooks sliced through the lane for a layup for a 105-89 lead with 5:43 left, scoring the last of his 40 points. He finished 13 of 22 from the field and had eight rebounds on a night the team gave the first 5,000 fans who entered the arena a shirt that read “Dillon The Villain" — a nod to his combustible personality.

The Pistons lost for just the third time in 12 games. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 26 points, and Jalen Duran had 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Brooks had 38 points through three quarters, which was already a career high. The 6-foot-7 forward’s previous best was a 37-point performance for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2021.

The 30-year-old Canadian is in the midst of a career year, averaging more than 20 points per game to become a dark horse candidate to make his first All-Star game. He came to the Suns during the offseason as part of the trade that sent Kevin Durant to Houston.

Detroit trailed 72-56 at halftime but cut it to 77-74 midway through the third. Phoenix recovered to take a 93-81 advantage into the fourth.

The Suns made their first four 3-pointers and rode the hot shooting to a 72-56 halftime advantage. Brooks scored 24 points before the break, making 8 of 11 shots on an array of turnaround jumpers and threes.

Suns star guard Devin Booker missed his third straight game with a sprained ankle.

Pistons: At Golden State on Friday night.

Suns: Host Cleveland on Friday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Detroit Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins (24) tries to drive past Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen, center, is fouled by Detroit Pistons forward Duncan Robinson (55) as Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) arrives to defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) dunks against Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks celebrates a made 3-pointer against the Detroit Pistons during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Protesters across the U.S. are calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” as part of a nationwide strike on Friday to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The demonstrations are taking place amid widespread outrage over the killing Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was shot multiple times after he used his cellphone to record Border Patrol officers conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The death heightened scrutiny over the administration’s tactics after the Jan. 7 death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot behind the wheel of her vehicle by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country — to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN,” said one of the many websites and social media pages promoting actions in communities around the United States.

Numerous businesses announced they would be closed during Friday's “blackout.” Others said they would be staying open but donating a portion of their proceeds to organizations that support immigrants and provide legal aid to those facing deportation.

Some schools in Arizona and Colorado preemptively canceled classes in anticipation of mass absences. Many other demonstrations were planned for students and others to gather at city centers, statehouses and churches across the country.

Just outside Minneapolis, hundreds gathered in the frigid cold early Friday at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, the site of regular protests in recent weeks.

After speeches from clergy members, demonstrators marched toward the facility’s restricted area, jeering at a line of DHS agents to “quit your jobs” and “get out of Minnesota.” Much of the group later dispersed after they were threatened with arrest by local law enforcement for blocking the road.

Michelle Pasko, a retired communications worker, said she joined the demonstration after witnessing federal agents stopping immigrants at a bus stop near her home in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.

“They’re roaming our streets, they’re staying in hotels near our schools,” she said. “Everyone in this country has rights, and the federal government seems to have forgotten that. We’re here to remind them.”

In Michigan, dozens of students walked out of Friday morning classes at Groves High School in Birmingham, north of Detroit. The students braved the zero-degree temperatures and walked about a mile to the closest business district where a number of morning commuters honked horns in support.

“We’re here to protest ICE and what they’re doing all over the country, especially in Minnesota,” said Logan Albritton, a 17-year-old senior at Groves. “It’s not right to treat our neighbors and our fellow Americans this way.”

“The teachers, generally, have been pretty supportive,” Albritton added. “But there was an email sent out last night trying to get us not to do this, and we came and did it anyway.” Albritton said the email was more about the students’ safety.

In Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced that ICE is ending its surge, people gathered outside a Portland church on Friday morning, holding signs that said “No ICE for ME,” a play on the state’s postal code.

Grace Valenzuela, an administrator with Portland Public Schools, decried an “enforcement system that treats our presence as suspect.” She said ICE’s actions brought “daily trauma” to the school system.

“Schools are meant to be places of learning, safety and belonging. ICE undermines that mission every time it destabilizes a family,” Valenzuela said.

Portland Mayor Mark Dion, a Democrat, spoke about the importance of speaking out in the wake of ICE’s actions in the city.

“Dissent is Democratic. Dissent is American. It’s the cornerstone of our democracy,” Dion said.

Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz in Minneapolis, Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.

People gather for a protest against ICE outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A protester rallies against the presence of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement in Maine, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

People gather for a protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People gather for a protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People gather for a protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)