Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers separating from rest of NBA in Power Rankings

Last week: Beat Orlando 103-88, lost at Charlotte 102-101, lost to Charlotte 110-107

This week: Sunday vs. San Antonio, Tuesday at Cleveland, Wednesday vs. Milwaukee, Friday vs. Indiana

The Detroit Pistons couldn’t quite come back enough to win at Charlotte on Wednesday before coughing up a late lead at home on Friday to lose both ends of a home-and-home with the Hornets.

On Friday, Detroit led by as much as eight in the fourth quarter, but after Andre Drummond turned the ball over with an offensive foul with 1:56 left, Charlotte’s Devonte’ Graham made the Pistons pay with a 3-pointer that put the Hornets up 108-106 with 1:43 left. The Pistons never led again.

There’s nothing new on the injury report for Detroit — Reggie Jackson is still out due to a stress reaction in his lower back and Khyri Thomas is recovering from surgery on his right foot and will be out until at least mid-December.

Luke Kennard had a good week for the Pistons, dropping 20 points in two of the three games while averaging 19.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 34.1 minutes per game. He shot 50.0 percent overall and was 10-for-20 from 3-point range. Kennard is averaging a career-high 16.7 points per game this season, his first as a full-time starter.

Last week: Won at Cleveland 108-106, lost at Boston 121-110, beat Boston 112-107

This week: Sunday vs. Miami, Wednesday at Atlanta, Friday at Charlotte

In eight games since Kyrie Irving went down with a shoulder injury, the Brooklyn Nets have gone 6-2, climbing above the .500 mark for the first time all season by winning in Cleveland on Monday and getting back over the break-even line with their win over the Celtics at home on Friday.

Irving has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Heat, but per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, coach Kenny Atkinson says the All-NBA point guard is doing “on-court work.” Caris LeVert, meanwhile, is still two to four weeks away after surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb.

Brooklyn is solidly in the middle of the pack both offensively and defensively — about where a team one game better than .500 should be — with a No. 16 ranking in offensive rating (107.6) and currently 17th in defensive rating (108.9).

Jarrett Allen, meanwhile, seems to be making a leap. He had his second career 20-point/20-rebound game in Cleveland on Monday and has four consecutive double-doubles overall. Last week, Allen averaged 17.7 points, 15.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals in 29.8 minutes per game, shooting 73.3 percent overall. But his 57.0 foul shooting is a concern.