Cunningham's 42 points, 13 assists lead Pistons to a 126-111 win over the Knicks

NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 42 points and 13 assists to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 126-111 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

The Pistons have defeated the Knicks in the teams’ three meetings this season.

Paul Reed scored 18 points, Tobias Harris had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Ausar Thompson added 10 points for Eastern Conference-leading Detroit.

Jalen Brunson led New York with 30 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Landry Shamet scored 15 points and Josh Hart had 11 as the Knicks shot a miserable 23% (8 of 35) from 3-point range.

The Knicks scored the first five points of the game, taking their biggest lead at 9-2. The Pistons then went on a 21-8 run, taking the lead for good.

Detroit ended the second quarter on a 7-0 run and took its first double-digit lead of the game, 58-48, at halftime.

The Knicks pulled within 62-60 on Towns’ basket early in the third quarter. But, Duncan Robinson hit back-to-back 3s and the Pistons extended their lead to 13 points before settling for a 90-79 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Detroit went up by a game-high 19 points at 104-85 on Daniss Jenkins’ tip-in with 7:50 left in the game.

The Knicks closed within 11 at 120-109 on a 3-pointer by Brunson with 1:33 remaining, but got no closer

The Pistons played without Jalen Duran, their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, and Isaiah Stewart, who averages 10 points. Both are serving suspensions for their part in a brawl in a game against Charlotte on February 9.

Pistons: At Chicago on Saturday.

Knicks: Hosts Houston on Saturday.

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

Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson (9) fights for control of the ball with New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) passes during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) drives past Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) is blocked by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) and Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed (7) attempts to block New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The navies of El Salvador and Mexico announced drug seizures in the Pacific Ocean this week of more than 10 tonnes of cocaine, in contrast to deadly strikes by the U.S. government that just this week left 11 people dead on three boats suspected of carrying drugs in Latin American waters.

The latest announcement came Thursday, when Mexico said it had seized nearly four tonnes of suspected drugs and detained three people from a semisubmersible craft, 250 nautical miles (463 kilometers) south of the port of Manzanillo.

Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said via X that the seizure from the sleek, low-riding boat with three visible motors brought the weekly total to nearly 10 tonnes, but he did not provide detail on the other seizures.

Mexican authorities said the seizure was made with intelligence shared U.S. Northern Command and the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South.

On Sunday, El Salvador’s navy announced the largest drug seizure in the country’s history of 6.6 tonnes of cocaine. The navy had intercepted a 180-foot boat registered to Tanzania, 380 miles (611 kilometers) southwest of the coast. Navy divers found 330 packages of cocaine hidden in the boat’s ballast tanks. Ten men were arrested from Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama and Ecuador.

On Thursday, Salvadoran authorities gave access to the seized ship FMS Eagle, which had just arrived in the port of La Union. More than 200 wrapped bundles were lined up on the deck.

The Trump administration has pressured Mexico to make more drug seizures over the past year. The trafficking of drugs like fentanyl was the president’s justification for tariffs on Mexican imports.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded with a more aggressive stance toward drug cartels than her predecessor, that has included sending dozens of drug trafficking prisoners to the United States for prosecution.

Sheinbaum has also expressed her disagreement with strikes by the U.S. military in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean against boats suspected of carrying drugs.

At least 145 people have been killed in those strikes since the U.S. government began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” last September.

The U.S. strikes this week included two vessels carrying four people each in the eastern Pacific Ocean and another boat in the Caribbean carrying three people. The administration provided images of the boats being destroyed, but not evidence they were carrying drugs.

Drugs seized by El Salvador's Navy are displayed during a press conference in Puerto la Union, El Salvador, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)

Drugs seized by El Salvador's Navy are displayed during a press conference in Puerto la Union, El Salvador, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)

Drugs seized by El Salvador's Navy are displayed during a press conference in Puerto la Union, El Salvador, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)