DENVER -- Aaron Brooks got word just before game time that he would start in place of an ailing Ty Lawson, and then took advantage of his opportunity. Brooks had 27 points and a career-high 17 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets past the Detroit Pistons 118-109 on Wednesday night for their fourth win in five games. "Aaron did a great job of picking those guys apart," teammate Darrell Arthur said. "He did whatever he wanted to. He got to the rim. He got guys open for easy looks. He did a great job managing the floor today." Brooks said he found out Lawson, who was suffering from a sinus infection, wouldnt be able to play when Lawson walked off the court and told him after struggling in pregame warm-ups. "I thought he was joking at first," Brooks said. "I was like, Quit playing around. Get back out there. But thats what you have to do. We all stepped up." Randy Foye added 22 points, Kenneth Faried had 14 and J.J. Hickson had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets. Wilson Chandler also sat out after receiving an injection to treat a hip injury. Greg Monroe scored 22 points to lead the Pistons, who lost their 11th in a row on the road. Rodney Stuckey added 18 and Kyle Singler and Charlie Villanueva each had 13. "Aaron Brooks was able to get in the lane and Randy Foye just caught fire from 3," Monroe said. "Anytime you have a backcourt that ones getting to the rim and the other is knocking down 3s, its going to be tough on any night." Trailing by seven at the half, the Nuggets rallied to take an 85-84 lead into the fourth quarter. After Singlers 3-pointer put the Pistons in front 82-75, the Nuggets outscored Detroit 10-2 over the final 3:20 of the third quarter to regain the lead. Brooks started the spurt with a 3-pointer and a driving reverse layup and Foye closed it by hitting a 3 and finishing a fast-break with a layup after stealing an inbounds pass. Denver used another 10-2 surge to stretch its lead to 104-91 midway through the final period. Detroit pulled to 113-109 with 54.2 seconds remaining as Singler and Villanueva hit 3s around a layup by Hickson. But Hickson had another layup and Anthony Randolph converted a three-point play to give the Nuggets a nine-point cushion with 31.7 seconds remaining. Stuckey scored 14 of his points in the first half, helping the Pistons take a 61-54 lead. Detroit led by as many as 11 points early on. NOTES: Pistons C Andre Drummond sat the game out after injuring his neck on Saturday against Indiana. ... Pistons G Chauncey Billups, a former Nugget and native of Denver who has been sidelined by a knee injury, returned a warm ovation from the crowd with a couple of waves of his hand. ... The Pistons lost Josh Smith to ejection midway through the third quarter after he picked up a pair of technical fouls in quick succession. ... Brooks previous career high for assists was 13 against Phoenix on Nov. 17, 2009. DJ Moore Panthers Jersey . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Ryan Kalil Youth Jersey . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Watch the 2014 NBA Draft on TSN, Thursday at 7pm et/4pm pt. http://www.shoppanthersonline.us/panther...tt-blue-jersey/. Follow all the action live on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, TSN Radio 690 in Montreal, TSN Radio 1260 in Edmonton and TEAM 1410 on Friday at 3pm et/Noon pt. Donte Jackson Womens Jersey . New Zealand brushed aside England 26-7 to win the event and reclaim top spot in the overall standings. The All Blacks, the defending World Series champions, won their third tournament this season in style, running four tries past England to claim their 11th Cup championship in Hong Kong and first since 2011. Curtis Samuel Youth Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil.SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City. "Keep cheering," Butler said Thursday night after the biggest victory of his baseball career. "We hear you. Its working. Make it louder." Joshua Houston hit a clutch two-run single, reliever Cameron Bufford pitched a tense scoreless sixth inning, and Jackie Robinson West Little League held off gritty Philadelphia 6-5 in a matchup of inner-city teams at the Little League World Series. The loss eliminated Philadelphia and prevented star pitcher Mone Davis from getting one last shot to put another stamp on what had become her personal playground. Dont worry about her, though. Philadelphia manager Alex Rice certainly isnt. "The worlds her oyster, right?" an emotional Rice said after the loss. "Mone will figure out her future, and its going to be terrific. Shes going to dictate what it is. Good for her." Davis, just the 18th girl to play in the Little League World Series and the only one to win a game on the mound, played first base the first two innings against Chicago, was taken out and re-entered the game at third base in the bottom of the fifth. The Jackie Robinson West team, comprised of all black players, is making its first appearance in 31 years in the Little League World Series. The victory sends the Great Lakes champs into the U.S. title game on Saturday against Las Vegas. Las Vegas, the West champions, beat Philly 8-1 on Wednesday and humbled Chicago 13-2 in four innings in a mercy-rule game last Sunday behind five homers, including a grand slam by Brad Stone and two home runs from Austin Kryszczuk. "It (the lopsided loss) woke us up," Butler said. "The kids have been more focused and todays game showed how focused we were. We had a lot of adversity. They find a way to get it done, and its always a new guy." Bufford walked Scott Bandura to lead off the top of the sixth, putting the tying run at first. He then struck out Jahli Hendricks, induced Jared Sprague-Lott to hit into a fielders choice and walked dangerous Zion Spearman before getting Jack Rice on a fly to right to end it. Philly trailed 6-2 after two innings but clawed back within a run on Tai Cummings long home run to centre leading off the fifth. The grassy hill beyond the outfield fences at Howard J. Lamade Stadium was jammed Wednesday night with 34,128 fans who craned their necks to see every pitch from Davis. With the star right-handder playing the field and not eligible to pitch until Saturday, attendance dipped to 21,119 against Chicago.dddddddddddd The 5-foot-4 Davis and her teammates gave the Taney Youth Baseball Association Little League in Philadelphia an amazing dose of publicity. In her first outing, Davis pitched a two-hit shutout to become the first girl to win a game in the Little League World Series. In splitting her two starts, Davis pitched 8 1-3 innings, allowed eight hits and three earned runs, and struck out 14 with only one walk. She also threw a three-hit shutout to lead Taney to an 8-0 victory over Delaware in the Mid-Atlantic Regional championship game. Small wonder that during batting practice Wednesday night on the West Coast the Los Angeles Dodgers streamed the Little League telecast on two giant video boards. The glare of the spotlight on Davis and her teammates had grown exponentially as the Little League World Series unfolded. Television ratings were up 143 per cent Wednesday night from the corresponding game last year and this week she became the first Little Leaguer to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. Baseball is trying to lure young African-Americans back to the game, and the opponents Thursday night offered some evidence the strategy might be making inroads. That one inner-city team had to beat another for a spot in the U.S. title game was not lost on Major League Baseball Commissioner-elect Rob Manfred. "With respect to baseball games, we try to take a position of neutrality," Manfred said at Lamade Stadium. "I have to tell you a Philadelphia-Chicago matchup is pretty darn good. Its so wonderful when people turn on their televisions and they see people from very different socio-economic backgrounds in a setting like this. When you have a diverse group like the Philadelphia group, it sends a message that baseballs a wide-open sport." When the two teams finally do return home, they likely will be overwhelmed a little bit more. "Weve always had the goal of baseball in the inner cities, how to get more African-Americans to play baseball," said Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, who hung out with the Philly kids and other teams earlier in the day during an appearance for sponsor Subway. "I think it shows its working. I dont think they understand the magnitude of what theyve accomplished. "I think they have a grasp of it, but I dont think theyll really understand it until they get back." ' ' '