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MIAMI -- Cade Cunningham insisted he called bank.

"I might have whispered it," he said. "I don't think anybody heard that, though."

Doesn't matter. They saw it -- Cunningham's first career go-ahead field goal in the final 5 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime. And the entire NBA is seeing the Detroit Pistons -- losers of 28 straight during one stretch last season -- not only looking like a sure-fire playoff team but one with a real shot at home-court advantage in the first round.

Cunningham's banked 3-pointer with 0.6 left was the difference in the Pistons' 116-113 win over the reeling Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Cunningham got the shot off with Miami's Bam Adebayo -- the Heat's best defensive player -- having a hand right in his face.

"Any closer," Adebayo said afterward, "and I'd have fouled him."

It capped a 25-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist masterpiece for Cunningham, who became the first Pistons player with a triple-double and the go-ahead field goal in the final 5 seconds in the past 50 years.

An All-Star for the first time this season, Cunningham is almost certainly going to end up on some All-NBA ballots next month. He has played 65 games, a career high and one that gets him across the NBA threshold for end-of-season award consideration.

He's 10th in the league in scoring at 25.6 points per game, third in assists at 9.3, tied for third in triple-doubles with nine and is the biggest reason why Detroit -- now 39-31 -- is right there with No. 4 Indiana (39-29) and No. 5 Milwaukee (38-30) for a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference.

"That was awesome," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after Wednesday's win.

He was talking about the game. He could have meant Cunningham's shot as well.

"Just get him the ball and get out of the way," Bickerstaff said. "You try to get the ball in his hands, occupy the guys around him and you know that Cade's going to be able to get his shot off. He's got the size. He's got the skill. He knows he's going to get his look. We told him to go win the game and he went and got it done."

Cunningham is on pace to become the first Pistons player to average 25 points and 9 assists in a season.

Wednesday's shot was very similar to another potential game winner Cunningham had in Miami on opening night of the 2023-24 season -- the Pistons rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit, straightaway 3-pointer in the final second, and it missed. Detroit won its next two games to improve to 2-1, then lost its next 28.

This time, the shot went in. All that losing is a thing of the past in Detroit.

"As soon as Coach walked up with the play, I already knew what he was running," Cunningham said. "I appreciate that kind of trust."

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SAN ANTONIO -- Bewildered and in a state of disbelief, San Antonio Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili walked back-and-forth half-dressed near his locker Wednesday night repeating the same words after his team's 120-105 win over the New York Knicks.

"I don't know what f---ing happened," Mamukelashvili said. "I don't know what f---ing happened."

With good friend and rapper Flavor Flav hyping a crowd of 18,521 that gleefully flooded Frost Bank Center with MVP chants, Mamukelashvili made NBA history by scoring the most points -- a career-high 34 -- in a game when playing fewer than 20 minutes since 1951-52, when minutes became official.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," he said. "I just can't explain how I feel right now. I feel like I'm in a dream. I manifested and prayed for it. I just waited for this day. I really had an out of body experience for a little bit there. I was like, 'Is this really happening?'"

Spurs teammates made sure of it, mobbing Mamukelashvili on the floor at the final buzzer. Dressed in a red T-shirt with his trademark clock dangling from his neck, Flavor Flav made it even more real by crashing the forward's on-court postgame interview to say, "I don't care what nobody says. My man is on fiiiiiiiirrrreee!"

Sitting one locker over from Mamukelashvili minutes after all the pandemonium on the court, teammate Jeremy Sochan asked half-jokingly whether "we can get Flavor Flav to stay" in San Antonio for a while.

Averaging 8.9 minutes for the season, Mamukelashvili didn't enter Wednesday's game until 55 seconds into the second quarter. The 25-year-old wasted little time making his presence felt. Mamukelashvili scored his first bucket on a tip-in off a Blake Wesley miss. Then, he drilled a 27-footer off a Stephon Castle assist to give the Spurs a 7-point lead.

He'd finish the quarter with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-3 from long range with 7 rebounds and an assist as San Antonio walked off the floor at intermission leading 67-43.

"13-of-14 from the field, 7-for-7 from 3, it would be ridiculous to say that was expected in 19 minutes and 26 seconds of opportunity," Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. "He's a really good shooter, and you're just waiting for him to have one of those games. I think that probably exceeded some of the thought of having one of those games. But he comes to work every day. He's the most consistent person, especially when you talk about the role that he has. That's why you can hear a little bit of the guys [in the locker room] and their feeling for him."

Mamukelashvili didn't play in the third quarter. But in the final frame, he lit up the Knicks for 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range to go with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Mamukelashvili heated up so much that teammate Chris Paul started calling actions down the stretch to get his teammate more looks.

"Luckily, I've played for a while and sort of know the art of getting guys shots," Paul said. "Mamu is an amazing teammate. He comes in and works hard every day, cheers guys on, always in a good mood, good attitude. When he's shooting the ball like that, you just try to find the guy."

Mamukelashvili became the fourth player in NBA history to shoot 90% from the field, 100% on 3-pointers and 100% on free throws in a game, joining Tyrese Haliburton (2022), Gary Payton (1995) and Charles Barkley. He also ranks as the third Spur to knock down 7-of-7 or better on 3-pointers, joining Matt Bonner (2010) and Steve Smith (2001).

The historic night couldn't have come at a better time for Mamukelashvili, who had just flown in his father, Zurab, from New Jersey to watch Wednesday's game with other family members. Flavor Flav, who celebrated his birthday on March 16, has been a friend of Mamukelashvili's "for a long time," the forward said. Mamukelashvili and Flavor Flav met through the latter's financial advisor.

Flavor Flav even came to see Mamukelashvili in 2021 at his first NBA Summer League.

"He was telling me, 'I'm gonna come out,'" Mamukelashvili said. "He called me and was like, 'For my birthday, I'm coming to San Antonio.' So, I was like, 'OK, you ain't gonna have fun there.'"

He did, though, thanks to a career night from his friend at Frost Bank Center.

"I'm trying to get better. I'm trying to establish myself," Mamukelashvili said. "I'm trying to show everybody that I belong. I'll just keep taking strides towards that. I'm just so happy I have a support team behind me: my girl, my friends, my teammates, my family. Once it sinks in, you're kind of like, 'OK, I really worked for this and it's happening.' It was an unbelievable feeling."

ESPN Research contributed to this report.

Chelsea have reached an agreement to sign Sporting Lisbon's Geovany Quenda and Dário Essugo in a joint deal worth up to 74.4 million ($81.15 million), the Portuguese side confirmed on Wednesday.

Sporting said the Premier League club have agreed to pay up to 52 million, including variable components, for the 17-year-old Quenda, who had attracted interest from Manchester United after being coached by Ruben Amorim at Sporting.

The Guinea-Bissau winger, who will turn 18 in April, will join Chelsea in 2026. He is part of Portugal's Nations League squad for their upcoming quarterfinal matches with Denmark, which begin on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Essugo, currently on loan with LaLiga club Las Palmas, will join the London-side in the summer for a fixed amount of 22.2 million.

The Portuguese became Sporting's youngest player, making his professional debut in 2021 at the age of 16.

Information from Reuters was used in this story.

CARSON, Calif. -- United States midfielder Weston McKennie said it's "about time" that the U.S. brings some "nastiness" to its game ahead of Thursday's Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Panama.

The U.S. is aiming to win the Nations League for the fourth straight time as well as get a chance for a bit of payback for the 2-1 defeat to Panama at last summer's Copa América.

But McKennie, speaking to reporters ahead of Thursday's practice session, said that revenge wouldn't be on the minds of the U.S. players as it heads into the match, especially since the U.S. beat the Canaleros in a friendly last October, which was Mauricio Pochettino's first game in charge.

"I think we've gotten past that," McKennie said about the Copa América loss to Panama. "I think we just want to hold no emotions and negative energy against it, so hopefully, we go on the field and we treat it like another game and any other game we want to win."

McKennie was also asked if there is a greater level of knowledge and comfort with Pochettino's methods now that he's been on the job for six months.

"I think we all know what [Pochettino] wants," McKennie said. "I think obviously knowing him, he brings a bit of that South American vibe into the group and that grittiness and makes it known to us that football's not always about being beautiful. It's also about the grit, the desire, the nastiness that you put into the game as well.

"And as you see in the past games that we played against South American groups, it seems like that's what they have as well. So I think it's about time that our team starts doing that."

U.S. winger Christian Pulisic echoed McKennie's sentiments.

"I guess just ingraining that into our identity, a little bit of nastiness, a little bit of that extra bite to us is really important," Pulisic said. "I think the coach wants that as well. And yeah, just putting it in every day in training and preparing and taking it with us into the games."

They'll need it against a Panama side that has given the U.S. difficulty even before last summer's Copa América. Panama prevailed 1-0 over the USMNT in a World Cup qualifier back in 2021, and beat the Americans on penalty kicks in the semifinals of the 2023 Gold Cup.

Pulisic is expecting another difficult test.

"They have a lot of ability, a lot of strong players," he said. "So for us we need to put on a really, really strong performance if we want to have a chance to win."

DAYTON, Ohio -- Dola Adebayo and Jedy Cordilia each scored 22 points as Mount St. Mary's defeated American 83-72 in an NCAA tournament matchup of No. 16 seeds at the First Four on Wednesday night.

The Mountaineers (23-12) earned a date with No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in an East Region game at Raleigh, North Carolina.

Geoff Sprouse led American (22-13) with 18 points on six 3-pointers off the bench. Elijah Stephens scored 12.

American leading scorer Matt Rogers injured his right knee four minutes into the game.

Rogers attempted to play through the pain. But with 5:28 remaining in the first half, he fell to the court and was helped off; he did not return. Rogers, who averages 17 points per game, finished with seven points in eight minutes. He watched the second half from the bench with crutches.

Both teams were shooting better than 60% and went a combined 8-of-19 from 3-point range through the first 10 minutes. Dallas Hobbs beat the buzzer with a 3 to put Mount St. Mary's ahead 48-38 at halftime.

Hobbs finished with 17 points.

Mount St. Mary's was missing leading 3-point shooter Carmelo Pacheco, who hasn't played since breaking a finger in the regular-season finale.

But the Mountaineers stayed hot from long range in the second half. Malcolm Dread's 3-pointer put them ahead 64-51 with 11:26 left.

Mount St. Mary improved to 3-6 in the NCAA tournament.

It was the 71st meeting between the Washington, D.C.-area schools. American leads the series 37-34 and had won four meetings in a row.

HOUSTON -- Defensive end Danielle Hunter and the Houston Texans have agreed to a one-year, $35.6 million contract extension, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

Last March, Hunter agreed to a two-year, $49 million deal with Houston as a free agent. The Texans have added $35.6 million to the back end of that original deal after his Pro Bowl debut with the team.

Hunter will get a $12 million raise in 2025, bumping his 2025 salary to $32 million. And in 2026, he'll earn the remainder of the extension.

Houston ranked fifth in the NFL in sacks (49) this past season and was led by Hunter, who was tied for fifth in sacks (12) while recording a pressure rate of 23.9%, second most among players with at least 200 pass-rush snaps, according to Next Gen Stats.

Because of Hunter, as well as the ability of his fellow defensive linemen to sack and pressure opposing quarterbacks, the Texans forced a lot of turnovers in 2024. Houston snagged 19 interceptions (second most in the NFL) and finished with 29 takeaways overall (fifth most).

Overall, the Texans' defense finished 14th in points allowed per game (21.9) and ranked fifth in total defense (315 yards allowed per game). The unit played a key role in the Texans clinching the AFC South title then defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in a wild-card playoff game. Houston forced L.A. quarterback Justin Herbert into four interceptions, including one pick-six.

The Hunter deal, which was first reported by NFL Network, comes on the heels of cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and the Texans agreeing Monday to a three-year, $90 million extension that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.

LOS ANGELES -- Denver Nuggets stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray will sit out for a second consecutive game Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers as they continue to nurse nagging injuries, the team announced.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said during his pregame media availability that Christian Braun, who also missed Monday's win over the Golden State Warriors due to left foot inflammation, will play against the Lakers and that Jokic and Murray were "much more questionable."

Murray, who has a sprained right ankle, struggled to move during a brief one-on-one matchup with Denver assistant coach John Beckett more than two hours before tipoff. Jokic, the three-time MVP, is dealing with left ankle impingement and a contusion to his right, shooting elbow.

"You listen to your body," Malone said. "I have to, as a head coach, trust our players as well as trust the training staff."

Malone took issue with the perception that the Nuggets are opting to rest Jokic and Murray, especially against teams that they are competing against for Western Conference playoff seeding.

"I think that's just a bunch of bulls---," Malone said. "I mean, in the last 10 years, Nikola Jokic has played the second-most games in the NBA. Ten years. And the guys in that top 10, none of them are superstars.

"So if Nikola is not playing, it's not because he's sitting. It's not because he needs rest. It's because he's hurt and he's trying to play through things that most wouldn't. We're at a point right now where we have to do what's best for not just Nikola, but for all our guys, as we move forward and try to close out this season."

She managed to get through to the third round at Indian Wells earlier this month on her return to action, but was no match for an in-form Stearns in Miami.

Boulter was broken three times in a row in the first set and although she showed a glimpse of promise in the second, her 23-year-old opponent soon took control to progress.

"Katie is a great player, it is always tough playing her," said Stearns.

"I knew I had to stay on it and if I gave her anything she would take it."