Pistons tie record losing streak in OT defeat to Celtics
The Detroit Pistons fell 128-122 to the Boston Celtics following overtime Thursday, tying the NBA record for the longest losing streak at 28 games.
Detroit equaled the Philadelphia 76ers' dubious mark set between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns.
| Rank | Games | Team | Season(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | 28* | Philadelphia 76ers | 2014-16 |
| T1 | 28 | Detroit Pistons | 2023-24 |
| T3 | 26 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 2010-11 |
| T3 | 26 | Philadelphia 76ers | 2013-14 |
| 5 | 24* | Cleveland Cavaliers | 1981-83 |
| T6 | 23 | Vancouver Grizzlies | 1995-96 |
| T6 | 23 | Denver Nuggets | 1997-98 |
| T6 | 23 | Charlotte Bobcats | 2011-12 |
| 9 | 21* | Detroit Pistons | 1979-81 |
| T10 | 20 | Philadelphia 76ers | 1972-73 |
| T10 | 20 | Dallas Mavericks | 1993-94 |
| T10 | 20 | Houston Rockets | 2020-21 |
| T10 | 20* | New York Knicks | 1984-86 |
| T10 | 20* | Los Angeles Clippers | 1993-95 |
*Denotes losing streak that spanned two seasons
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis scored a game-high 35 points in the victory, which preserves Boston's perfect home record at 15-0 this season.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 31 points to go with nine assists, six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17, including a putback layup in the final seconds of regulation to temporarily keep the Pistons alive and force the extra frame.
"I just told them that it takes a lot of character and integrity to do what they're doing," Pistons head coach Monty Williams said postgame, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "I've been in the league for a while, and I've seen teams give into circumstances that are less than what we're dealing with. That was admirable; obviously, we had a tough third quarter, and the ability to fight back and have it even in the fourth was tremendous.
"I hurt for them. We feel like we're just getting so close to not just winning one game but winning a lot of games if we play that way."
Detroit nearly went into the final possession with the score tied at 106-106 after a goaltending call on Cunningham looked like it might've been overturned on a referee-initiated review. However, the officiating crew determined that Jayson Tatum's layup made contact with the backboard just before being swatted by Cunningham, setting the score at 108-106 before Bogdanovic's timely basket.
Boston outscored Detroit 20-14 in overtime, including back-to-back point-blank buckets by Derrick White and Porzingis that gave Joe Mazzulla's team a decisive six-point lead with 45 seconds left.
"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. Our goals are a lot higher than that." Cunningham said postgame, according to The Associated Press' Jimmy Golen. "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."
The Pistons appeared on course to finally end their skid after they took a 19-point lead into halftime, with Cunningham contributing 22 points in the first half. However, Boston responded by outscoring Detroit 35-16 in the third, with Tatum and Porzingis tallying 11 and 12 points, respectively.
Saturday's six-point loss marked Detroit's first overtime period of the year. The Pistons have lost by a smaller margin on just two occasions during their streak: a two-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 8 and a four-point defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 20. Fourteen of their 28 losses have been by double digits.
The Pistons will attempt to avoid a 29th straight loss when they return home to face the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. Defeat would leave the Pistons tied with the 1942-45 Chicago Cardinals of the NFL for the longest stretch of consecutive losses in professional North American sports history.