In a record-tying 28-game streak, some losses hurt more than others. This one was just brutal for the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit ran into a Celtics team that came out sloppy and was looking past the Pistons — and they took advantage. Behind 22 points in the first half from a motivated Cade Cunningham, Detroit led by 19 after 24 minutes.
Boston decided at halftime it didn’t want to be THAT team. They came out with a defensive intensity missing in the first half, hit big 3-pointers, and within a quarter had tied the game. To its credit, Detroit showed real fight and did not roll over against what was considered the best team in the NBA. Detroit hustled, but Boston started to pull away late. Then — in a sign of their resiliance — Jaden Ivey had back-to-back 3-point plays (one the old-fashioned way on a drive, one corner 3) to tie the game at 106-106. Jayson Tatum got a borderline goaltending call to put Boston up by two, but an offensive rebound and putback by Bojan Bogdanovic forced overtime — Detroit had 11 offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter and overtime. It was the best game the Pistons have played this season and they showed a resolve that has been missing at times.
Bogdanovic's putback ties it up with 4.6 seconds remaining ‼️
— NBA (@NBA) December 29, 2023
Pistons-Celtics | Live on NBA TV
📲 https://t.co/Q9lUtN6Nv0 pic.twitter.com/2dAnpoSxg6
It wasn’t enough.
Detroit faded in overtime, Boston made plays the way contenders do and came away with the 128-122 win.
JT finds KP for the slam as the Celtics win an OT thriller at home!
— NBA (@NBA) December 29, 2023
The Celtics move to 15-0 at home ☘️ pic.twitter.com/8sdNpI9bjz
That makes 28 consecutive losses for the Pistons, tying the NBA all-time record of the “peak” process Philadelphia 76ers, who had their losing streak across two seasons in 2014-15.
Detroit hosts Toronto on Saturday night — the second night of a road back-to-back and third game in four nights for the Raptors — and a loss then would set a new record for futility at 29 straight losses.
Cunningham finished with 31 points and nine assists, hitting four 3-pointers. Ivey added 22 points with 10 rebounds, and Bogdanovic added 17. Kristaps Porzingis had 35 points for the Celtics, while Tatum added 31 with 10 assists.
Detroit’s two key problems in this game — and two reasons they are on the brink of setting this record losing streak — are a lack of depth and shooting. Cunningham and the Pistons starters held their own and even won stretches against maybe the best starting five in the NBA, but as the bench entered the game things fell apart — Alec Burks was 4-of-13 shooting and -15 for the game, for example. Yet coach Monty Williams leaned into all-bench five-man units in each half, when this has consistently been a disaster all season (that group did better in the second half Thursday). In crunch time, even when Cunningham on the drive-and-kick, or Jalen Duren on a tip-out, created a good look, the shots just didn’t go down. Detroits’ biggest issues start with roster construction — a lack of quality shooters and spacing. This team simply is not deep with NBA-rotation level talent.
However, for two games in a row now Detroit has played with a fire lacking for much of this losing streak — there were long stretches in the last month where, when the other team made a run, the Pistons wilted and looked resigned to their fate. Not against Brooklyn and Boston in their last two games — Detroit showed resilience and fight in both contests. It just was not enough.
They need it to be enough Saturday to avoid a dubious NBA record.
