The Detroit Pistons historic losing streak extended to 28-straight games and counting after they suffered a 128-122 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics.
To add insult injury the Pistons blew a 21-point they accumulated during the second quarter to tie the longest losing streak in NBA history.
Detroit’s shocking streak had given them sole possession of the NBA record for the longest season single streak in league history on Tuesday following a defeat to the Brooklyn Nets.
Detroit’s embarrassing loss to the Celtics now ties the mark set by the Philadelphia 76ers during a losing run that spanned the 2014-15 season to the 2015-16 seasons.
‘I’m unbelievably proud of the group, the way they bring it,’ Pistons head coach Monty Williams said.
The Pistons blew a 21-point first half lead against the Celtics to extent their losing streak
Detroit is now tied for the longest-ever losing streak in NBA history with the 76ers at 28 games
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis led the game with 35 points and fueled Boston’s win
‘They’ve heard all the stuff about our team and they just keep bringing it. I know it’s going to pay off.’
Detroit was able to jump out to a massive advantage early on and led by 19 points as the game entered halftime. Their lead had reached as high as 21 points during the first half.
Things took an unbelievable turn during the third quarter however, after the Celtics were able to battle back and tie things up at 82-82 heading into the fourth quarter thanks to a 23-7 run.
Pistons superstar guard Cade Cunningham followed up his tremendous 41-point performance in Tuesday’s historic loss by scoring a team-high 31 as Detroit tried to win game since October 28.
‘I’m not interested in just winning one more game this year — you know what I mean? To stop this. That would be soft, in my opinion,’ said Cunningham.
‘Our goals are a lot higher than that. We have what it takes to win a game, that’s nothing. But to put games together, to find our system, find what’s clicking and allow us to sustain winning. That’s all we’re looking for.’
Cunnigham had picked up an incredible 22 points during the first half alone before finishing the game with his grand totals of 31 pts, nine assists, and six rebounds.
‘We’re on the same level as all these teams were playing against,’ said Cunningham. ‘There’s no team that I’ve ever come across in the NBA where I felt like I was going into a slaughterhouse. I’ve never felt like that in my life, going into a basketball game.
‘So every game we should be able to fight teams and impose our will on them. We did that early on. We kind of let go of the rope a little bit in the third quarter. But there’s a lot of growth, and something we can learn from and definitely take to the next game.’
Boston on the other hand were led by center Kristaps Porzingis who ended the night with a game-high 35 pts, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum ended the game with 31 pts, 10 asts, eight rebs, and five steals to pick up one of his most important double-doubles on the season.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons effort and scored a team-high 31 points during the loss
The game was nearly decided in the final seconds when Cunningham was called for a goaltending violation with 8.7 seconds left as Tatum attempted a shot to break a 106-106 tie and give the Celtics a two-point advantage.
Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic was able to secure a put back layup with less than five seconds left to force the game into overtime.
After overtime guard Derrick White began playing like a man possessed to ensure the Celtics avoided an embarrassing loss on their home court.
White ended the night with 23 points.
Detroit’s next chance to end their losing ways will be on Saturday night against the Toronto Raptors.
If the Pistons suffer another loss against Toronto, it will give them sole possession of the longest losing streak in NBA history at 29 games.