Historic skid reaches 28, but not without a fight

Pistons fall short in OT, equal longest-ever losing streak in NBA

BY MIKE CURTIS

29 Dec 2023 - The Detroit News

Two nights after setting the record for the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history, the lowly-Pistons descended upon Beantown for their greatest challenge of the season.

It was their first nationally televised game of the season after the previous two were removed from NBA TV. With the entire country watching, Detroit’s young roster squandered a first-half 19-point lead but showed enough resilience in the fourth quarter to force a veteran Celtics team to a crucial overtime period.

When the Pistons needed them most, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jaden Ivey delivered several shots in the clutch to keep their team’s hopes alive, but the Celtics made the plays that ultimately mattered in the final two minutes of the game to deliver a 128-122 loss to the Pistons on Thursday night.

Celtics guard Jrue Holiday baited Jaden Ivey into a sixth and disqualifying foul with 2:13 left in overtime. It was a 3-point play, which was followed by a heartbreaking 3-pointer by Boston guard Derrick White, which resulted in roars from the fans inside TD Garden. Those cheers grew louder as Kristaps Porzingis threw down a twohanded dunk in transition to give the Celtics a comfortable six-point lead and enough breathing room to end Detroit’s night with another loss.

Thursday’s loss was the 28th straight defeat for Detroit, which tied the record for the NBA's longest overall losing streak — originally set over two seasons by the Philadelphia 76ers between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

After a shockingly impressive first-half performance that gave the Pistons a 19-point halftime advantage, Detroit blew its comfortable lead with turnovers and poor shooting to allow the Celtics to tie the game going into the fourth quarter. What should've been an opportunity to capture the first win in exactly two months quickly turned into a battle for survival as the Pistons found themselves down by one point with three minutes left.

Timely baskets by Porzingis, who scored 27 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, helped Boston overcome the Pistons.

The loss didn't come without a bit of drama in the final moments of the fourth quarter. Ivey scored six straight points to tie the game at 106, but Jayson Tatum received the benefit of a goaltending violation as Cade Cunningham blocked his layup off the glass. Pistons coach Monty Williams challenged the call but it was unsuccessful, giving the Celtics a two-point lead with eight seconds remaining.

With one final shot to tie or take the lead, the Pistons chose to inbound the ball to Cunningham, who took an off-balance 3pointer and missed, but Bogdanovic was there to lay the ball in off the putback. With a tie game with 4.6 left, Jayson Tatum had an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer but missed a turnaround midrange shot.

Cunningham, who scored a team-high 31 points, was magnificent in the first 12 minutes of the game, but struggled to find that same rhythm for the rest of the game.

The Pistons entered the game as 17-point underdogs and losers of 27 consecutive games, but none of that mattered once the ball was tipped. Cunningham picked up where he left off from Tuesday's 41-point outburst against the Brooklyn Nets and aggressively attacked Boston's interior defense.

The sea of Celtics fans inside TD Garden let out a fierce set of boo's as the halftime buzzer rang as their team trailed by 19 points at the break. It was a result of the Pistons' efficient first half, led by Cunningham, who produced a magnificent 22point first half.

Boston (23-6), the Pistons' greatest challenge of the season, was without Jaylen Brown due to a lower back contusion, but Jayson Tatum was available after being listed as questionable with a left ankle sprain suffered on Christmas Day. Boston attempted 24 three-pointers in the first half and only made four, which helped the Pistons build their double-digit lead.

The Celtics adjusted their strategy at halftime and attacked Detroit's thin frontcourt, which was without Isaiah Stewart due to a big toe injury. Boston produced a 15-6 run in the first four minutes of the period to cut Detroit's lead to just 10. Tatum

Cunningham has traditionally had success against the Celtics. He scored 20 or more points in three of four career games against Boston with averages of 19 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists. The only time Cunningham didn't score double digits was his last time playing at TD Garden on Nov. 9, 2022, which was the final game of his sophomore season before he was shut down due to shin surgery.

Boos rang out inside Boston Garden when the Pistons captured their biggest lead of the night at 13, prompting a timout.

Tatum has scored 30+ points in each of his last five games against the Pistons, averaging 35.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and a .434 3PT%. Since 2019-20, Tatum has averaged 30.0 points against Detroit, the fourth-most by a Pistons opponent.

Ivey has scored at least 14 points in all four career matchups against the Celtics, averaging 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists.