Call them "nasty boys," "nasty dogs" or whatever you want, as long as it reflects what they are — the hottest team in the NBA. Here's what's powering the Detroit Pistons' 11-2 start, their best in 20 years. www.freep.com/story/sports...

Jenkins on if he agrees with JB that they're "nasty dogs." "We’re all nasty dogs, nasty boys, whatever you want to call it. We’re mutts. You don't want a mutt in the house, nobody likes mutts. We are nasty boys. That’s who we are."

JB credits the defense for the win: “They scored 15 points in the 4th. That says it all.”

JB: "We've just got a bunch of nasty dogs in that locker room. And they love it."

JB on if he's surprised how the team has played without Cunningham and Duren: "I am not surprised. The character of our guys leads me to believe they can do anything."

FINAL: Pistons 114, Sixers 105. Without Cunningham, Duren and a big chunk of their rotation, they won the 4th quarter 26-15 to clinch their 9th-straight win and improve to 11-2. Green: 21 pts, 9 rebs, 2 blks Jenkins: 19 pts, 8 assts Robinson: 15 pts LeVert: 14 pts, 6 assts

The crowd is giving the Pistons a standing round of applause with under a minute left. They're leading the Sixers 114-105 and have completely controlled the 4th after trailing by 12 points

Two big 3s from LeVert, and he'll go to the line after the break. He's been awesome this week. Pistons 109, Sixers 103. 2:58 to play.

Make it a 27-9 Pistons run after the layup from Jenkins. This is crazy

Pistons are on a 23-9 run and have the lead again, 94-92. 8:59 remaining. Another spirited performance from Robinson and their bench.

End of 3: Sixers 90, Pistons 88. Closed a 12-point gap by closing the quarter with a 17-7 run, capped by a banked-in heave from Jenkins from beyond halfcourt. He’s had himself a week. Green: 17 pts, 5 rebs, 2 blks Jenkins: 14 pts, 7 assts Stewart: 14 pts, 5 rebs Robinson: 13 pts

Been a rough shooting night for Ron, but he just got a couple to fall inside including a 3pt play.

Pistons have been outscored 29-8 in the 3rd and are down 12, 83-71. Too many sloppy turnovers and the Sixers are cooking from 3.

Andre Drummond is 4-6 from 3 against the Pistons this season. So far.

Successful challenge for JB. No foul on LeVert. Philly ball

19-2 Sixers run to open the 2nd half, capped with a Drummond corner 3. Way too many Pistons turnovers fueling this run

Sixers open the 2nd half with an 8-0 run, including pair of 3s. Quick Pistons timeout after their lead is trimmed to one, 63-62.

Halftime: Pistons 63, Sixers 54. Erased a 7-point deficit by closing the quarter with a 28-12 run. They’re 11-22 from 3 with 16 assists and 4 turnovers. Another great effort with half the rotation out. Green: 15 pts Robinson: 13 pts Stewart: 9 pts, 5 rebs Jenkins: 6 pts, 5 assts

Green is hooping. 15 points, 3-3 from 3, a steal and a block in 18 minutes

Green hits a 3 to extend the Pistons run to 16-4. They're up 51-46 and have made seven in a row from deep

The Pistons have made six-straight 3s since this tweet. Now 9-17 from deep

Two nice plays from LeVert: Drove and found Stew inside for a layup, then hit a pull-up 3. Tied the game at 45

Pistons are down 45-40 midway through the 2nd. They're shooting 15-39 overall (38.5%) but are 7-15 (46.7%) from 3. Robinson's 3-3 from deep.

Successful challenge for Philly. Looked like Barlow's left hand was on Holland's shoulder. Apparently was incidental contact

Nick Nurse challenged the foul by Barlow on Holland in transition. Looked like a hard foul live, but on replay it looks Barlow's his right arm got mostly ball.

Sixers open the 2nd with 3-pointers from Maxey, Barlow and Edwards. Pistons are down 38-31 and have missed some good looks. Early timeout.

End of 1: Pistons 28, Sixers 27. Been back-and-forth. Pistons have a slight edge in offensive rebounds (4-2) and 2nd chance points (7-4), and have nine assists on 11 buckets. All nine players have scored. Balanced all-around effort

Sixers briefly took the lead for the first time before Chaz answered with a 3. Pistons up 21-19. They're getting 3's up but not hitting them, 3-11 from deep so far

Stewart just checked in after missing three games

Pistons are up 14-11. All five starters have scored. Good ball movement and energy so far

What can't Paul Reed do

Tonight’s starters: Jenkins Robinson Holland Green Reed

Cunningham and Duren are officially OUT tonight for the second-straight game. Isaiah Stewart will play tonight after missing three games.

Isaiah Stewart’s going through his pregame warmup. Still listed as questionable

Ivey’s getting some pregame work in for the first time since his arthroscopic procedure on his right knee

JB on Ivey: “He’s progressing well, feeling good. He is able to do some on-court stuff now … he’s excited to get out there with his teammates.”

This is still the injury report, nothing has changed

Ivey’s here at shootaround getting shots up. First time seeing him shoot since his surgery, he’s just now starting on-court work. No return date has been set yet.

Cunningham, Duren and Stewart have all been upgraded to questionable going into tomorrow’s Cup game vs the Sixers. Harris, Thompson, Ivey and Sasser remain out.

A long injury list — including Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren — wasn't enough to end the Pistons' now eight-game winning streak. On an improbable win that showed why they're No. 1 in the East. www.freep.com/story/sports...

Just realized not one player who appeared in tonight's win for the Pistons was on the 2023-24 roster

Reed on Jenkins: "He's really living his dream right now. We talk about it right now, opportunity's coming, stay ready, and that's what he's been doing."

Reed: "You said it, we came in hungry. I feel like next man up mentality. Everybody that was on the court tonight had something to prove. We wanted to go out and prove that we could show out and play Pistons basketball."

JB: "What’s brewing in that locker room is special."

JB: "These are the fun ones, I’ll be honest with you. These are games that I do enjoy when a lot of people say you can’t, the challenge of accepting that is always fun. But it doesn’t start today. What we were able to do today started in August."

JB said Daniss Jenkins has unwavering belief in himself. "He's an NBA player. I think the league knows that, but we're lucky to have him here with us."

FINAL: Pistons 124, Bulls 113. Without Cade and much of their rotation, they led from start to finish to improve to 10-2 overall and win their eighth straight. Really impressive. Reed: 28 pts, 13 rebs, 6 assts, 3 stls Robinson: 23 pts (7-10 from 3) Jenkins: 18 pts, 12 assts

Robinson banks in a 3. Green gets a steal and layup. 23-10 Pistons run since the Bulls cut it to one. Pistons are up 120-106 with 2:35 remaining

Jenkins finds Reed underneath for a layup. Robinson follows with a deep 3. Pistons 111, Bulls 102. 4:33 to play. Reed's up to 24 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. Jenkins has 18 points and 10 assists. Robinson has 20 points and six 3's.

The Paul Reed Game. 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and a block with 6:40 to play. Big buckets after the Bulls cut it to one. Pistons are up 104-98.