In the end, all the Detroit Pistons needed to end their NBA record losing streak was a 12-19 team that had traded away three of its rotation players hours earlier.
The Pistons snapped their 28-game skid with a 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, leaving them tied with the 2014-15/2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers for the longest losing streak in NBA history. However, those 28 games remain the longest ever losing streak in a single season.
Before Saturday, Detroit's last win had been on Oct. 28. Its record now sits at 3-29.
It was a game where a heroic performance from Cade Cunningham didn't go to waste, for once. After averaging 33.0 points, 7.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds with 50.0% 3-point shooting over his last five games, Cunningham again came through with 30 points on 9-of-20 shooting with 12 assists and zero turnovers.
One of those assists led to a Jaden Ivey 3-pointer to go up by 11 points and made the Little Caesars Arena crowd start to believe. By the final minutes, chants of "Lets go Pistons" were ringing through the stands, rather than "Sell the team."
Jaden Ivey puts the Pistons ahead by eleven points 👀#DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/InD6SatOFn
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) December 31, 2023
That shot finished an 11-2 fourth-quarter run to put the game away, though the Raptors made things a little too interesting down the stretch when they cut the lead down to five points with four minutes remaining and again in the closing seconds.
The final 60 seconds of play took a solid 15 minutes to play, but the result was a streak snapped and a sigh of relief.
Raptors were set up to end Pistons' losing streak
The Raptors were a perfect opportunity for the Pistons to end their descent into infamy. First, the Raptors simply haven't been very good this season, entering Saturday sitting at 12th in the Eastern Conference and having lost four of their last five. Second, Toronto was in the second night of a back-to-back after losing a heartbreaker to the Bostons Celtics.
Third, and arguably foremost, the Raptors traded away standout guard OG Anunoby as well as reserves Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa to the New York Knicks the same day. New York sent back RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley in return, but neither player was in the lineup Saturday, leaving Toronto suddenly shorthanded.
It was a golden opportunity the Pistons finally didn't let slip away, unlike what they did Thursday. The Pistons appeared on track to stun the NBA-leading Celtics with a 19-point halftime lead, but collapsed in the second half and lost in overtime to tied the Sixers.
