It is official. The Detroit Pistons now own the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history.
It started out promisingly for the Pistons, who took the lead after the first quarter for the first time in over a fortnight, but things went downhill from there as Detroit were defeated 118-112 by the Brooklyn Nets.
That was despite a 37-point second half from young guard Cade Cunningham, who finished with 41 and added nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and a block in the loss.
It marked Detroit’s 27th straight defeat, surpassing the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers who had 26 consecutive defeats.
The 76ers hold the NBA’s overall record of 28 straight losses which spanned the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Detroit looks destined to at least equal that record, with a date against the Eastern Conference leading Boston Celtics next on the schedule before the Pistons host the Raptors on Sunday.
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The Pistons jumped out to an early 9-1 lead, playing with plenty of energy as they attacked the rim with eight points in the paint while out-rebounding the Nets 8-2.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the way at that point with four points while Jalen Duren had two points and four rebounds in his first game back from an ankle injury.
Detroit was able to push the lead out to as much as 22-8 before Brooklyn went on a 6-0 run, seeing the Pistons call a timeout.
The Pistons went into the second quarter ahead 31-25, marking the first time they had led a quarter since December 11 against the Pacers.
Indiana was able to outscore Detroit 33-25 in the second on the way to a 131-123 win on that occasion and unfortunately for the Pistons history repeated itself as the Nets dominated the second quarter.
Brooklyn went on an early 12-2 run to take its first lead of the game and didn’t let up, winning the period 36-23 to take a 61-54 advantage into the third.
That was despite the Nets shooting only 10 of 17 free throws in the half, making up for their struggles at the charity stripe by making five of 10 3-point attempts.
Nic Claxton was particularly impressive for Brooklyn on both ends in the opening half, putting up nine points to go with eight rebounds and two blocks.
Cam Thomas and Cam Johnson, meanwhile, had 21 points between them while the bench unit provided valuable production to help the Nets overcome a slow start, combining for 20 points.
Things didn’t look great early in the third for Detroit and specifically Cunningham as the oblivious guard coughed up possession after a shot clock violation.
But Cunningham recovered to drain a deep 3-pointer and then knock down another bucket that sparked a much-needed run for the Pistons, with a Duren steal and Jaden Ivey dunk seeing Detroit draw within 71-67.
To their credit, the Pistons were able to keep in touch with the Nets until the end of the quarter even as it threatened to blow out once more, trailing 88-85 heading into the fourth.
The Pistons carried that momentum into the fourth as Cunningham and Bogdanovic combined to score 11 of Detroit’s first 13 points in the quarter, taking a 97-92 lead in the process.
A quick 13-0 run saw Brooklyn jump ahead 105-97 and Detroit was unable to recover despite some clutch Cunningham shots, falling in the end to slump to a 27th straight loss.
Pistons coach Monty Williams had previously taken full responsibility for Detroit’s losing streak while crediting the playing group for its resilience in the face of adversity.
“I could sit here and say I don’t think about it, but it’s in my face. That’s on me. It’s not on the players,” Williams said after the losing skid hit 25 games.
“Losing is awful in this league,” Williams added after the loss to Brooklyn last Sunday, marking the team’s 26th straight defeat.
“And we’ve had a lot of it. I’m proud of the way that they just keep battling every night. Our guys don’t want to be a part of any kind of losing streak, whatever. But every day they come back with focus and drive and grit trying to win a game.”
That may be challenging given, as Nets guard Thomas told YES Network last week, it is getting to the point where you don’t want to be the team that finally loses to Detroit.
“Everybody knows what’s going on in the NBA. It’s not a hidden secret. Obviously, you don’t want to be that team,” Thomas said after Brooklyn’s first win of the double-header.
