Jalen Duren and Cade Cunningham help Detroit Pistons prolong Memphis Grizzlies losing streak

DETROIT (AP) — Jalen Duren had 30 points and 13 rebounds and Cade Cunningham added 17 points and 15 assists as the Detroit Pistons handed the Memphis Grizzlies their seventh straight loss with a 126-110 victory on Friday night.

The Pistons have won their last three games by an average of 25.3 points after a season-worst four-game losing streak.

Marcus Sasser had 16 points for the Pistons, which had seven players in double figures.

Javon Small led the Grizzlies with 23 points while Ty Jerome had 21. Taj Gibson made his season debut for the Grizzlies after signing with them in late February. The 40-year-old played nearly 12 minutes with three points and three rebounds.

Detroit led 98-84 at the end of three quarters, thanks to 26 points from Duren, and quickly moved the advantage to 22 before coach J.B. Bickerstaff emptied the bench.

The Grizzlies started the game with the newest defensive strategy — blitzing and trapping Cunningham to keep him from shooting and force him into risky passes. It worked in the first half, when he only scored seven points and had nine turnovers and one assist.

His main recipients were Duncan Robinson and Duren, who each scored 14 points in the half, as Detroit shot 63% from the floor. Small had 14 points in a reserve role for the Grizzlies, who were down 68-61 at the break.

For the second straight night, the Pistons were able to adjust at halftime — Cunningham had five points and four assists in the first minutes of the third.

Grizzlies: Visit the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Pistons: Visit the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

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

Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) steals the ball from Detroit Pistons guard Caris LeVert (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 13, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, center, drives to the basket against Memphis Grizzlies guards DeJon Jarreau (77) and Jahmai Mashack, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 13, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (5) drives to the basket past Memphis Grizzlies guard Javon Small (10) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 13, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) drives against Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 13, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dunks the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 13, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

MIAMI (AP) — Austin Wells hit a walk-off three-run homer in the seventh inning that ended the game under a tournament rout rule, and the Dominican Republic beat South Korea 10-0 Friday night to reach the World Baseball Classic semifinals.

Seeking its second title and first since 2013, the Dominicans play the United States or Canada in a semifinal on Sunday in Miami and will start Luis Severino. The Dominicans are 5-0 in the tournament, have outscored opponents 51-10 while batting .312 and with 14 homers tied the WBC record set by Mexico in 2009.

Fernando Tatis Jr. drove in two runs and has 11 RBIs in the tournament. He is tied for third in a single WBC, trailing only Masataka Yoshida’s 13 for Japan in 2023 and Wladimir Balentien’s 12 for the Netherlands in 2017.

Wells, who entered as a defensive replacement in the top of the seventh, reached down and drove a first-pitch cutter from Hyeong Jun So off the front of the second deck in right. Wells was born in Arizona to a mother is of Dominican descent.

He hit the Dominicans' second walk-off homer of the tournament after Juan Soto's drive that ended a 12-1 group stage win over the Netherlands.

Backed by three runs in the second inning and four in the third, winner Christopher Sánchez struck out eight in five innings of two-hit ball.

South Korea, which lost a semifinal in 2006 and the final in 2009, had been eliminated in the first round three straight times before reaching a quarterfinal this year. The South Koreans had two hits, batted .222 and finished with a 5.91 ERA.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked against loser Hyun Jin Ryu and scored the game's first run from first base with a head-first slide on Junior Caminero’s double into the left-field corner. Julio Rodríguez followed with an RBI groundout and Tatis had a run-scoring single.

Soto scored on Guerrero’s double in a four-run fourth, hooking an arm around catcher Dong Won Park with a head-first slide.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

South Korea starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin reacts on the mound during the second inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against the Dominican Republic, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Dominican Republic's Juan Soto celebrates after hitting a single during the third inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against South Korea, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Dominican Republic's Agustin Ramirez runs home on a single by Fernando Tatis Jr. during the second inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against South Korea, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Dominican Republic's Austin Wells runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run to end the game early in the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against South Korea, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)