Pistons fall to Nets, tie NBA’s longest single-season losing streak

With just under 8 minutes remaining in Saturday’s game at Barclays Center in New York, Jaden Ivey knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Detroit Pistons’ deficit to 12 points. 

The Pistons hadn’t led since early in the first quarter, when the Brooklyn Nets countered their game-opening 6-0 run with a 7-0 run. Following that exchange of leads, Detroit repeated many of the mistakes that had landed them with a franchise-record 25-game losing streak, resulting in the Pistons tying the NBA’s all-time single-season record of 26 consecutive losses, thanks to a 126-115 stumble. 

Take, for example, the possession following Ivey’s 3: Isaiah Stewart committed a flagrant foul on Cam Thomas during a 3-point attempt. The shot went down, and Thomas knocked down the free throw. Just 2 seconds into Brooklyn’s following possession, Ivey fouled Mikal Bridges, who then hit both free throws — and suddenly the deficit was up to 18, yet another example of the Pistons’ tendency to stumble in key moments. Detroit later cut the lead to 10, but got no closer in its history-tying defeat. 

The Pistons, who haven’t won since Oct. 28, are now linked with the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers in NBA ignominy. Attention now turns to Tuesday, when the Pistons will look to avoid owning the record outright when they host the Nets at home. (There’s more potential history this week, too: The league record for consecutive losses over any span is 28, set by the 76ers at the end of the 2014-15 season and the beginning of the 2015-16 season.)

Burned in Brooklyn 

On Saturday, Detroit was hurt by turnovers and a lack of offensive rebounds. The Pistons turned the ball over eight times in the first half — six in the first quarter — for 13 Nets points, and also gave up 11 second-chance points in the first half. They finished the game with 13 turnovers — a reasonable number, especially considering their ongoing issues with ball control — but allowed Brooklyn to score 22 points off them. 

The Pistons’ porous defense also allowed the Nets to shoot 52.3%. They didn’t help themselves at the line, either, missing seven of their 29 free-throw attempts. 

Jaden Ivey led Detroit with 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Cade Cunningham played just 10:38 in the first half after picking up his third foul less than 4 minutes into the second quarter, but tallied 17 points in nearly 23 second-half minutes to finish with 22 points and six assists. Stewart had a strong night on offense, knocking down four of five 3-point attempts for 20 points. 

Bojan Bogdanovic (19 points, eight rebounds, four assists) and Kevin Knox (14 points, 3-for-3 from 3) also scored in double figures. The Nets were led by Bridges’ 29 points. 

Detroit trailed by nine at halftime, but cut the margin to two midway through the third period. Stewart knocked down his fourth 3, and Ivey followed that with a layup to bring the score to 77-75. But the Nets closed the third with a 21-7 run, extending their lead to 16 entering the fourth quarter.

Thomas pushed the lead to 18 with a layup to open the fourth, and got the ball right back after Cunningham lost the ball following an inbounds pass. Just like that, Brooklyn had scored 15 unanswered points and pushed Detroit’s deficit to 21. The Pistons cut it to 10 with just over 4 minutes remaining after a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Ivey. But Cameron Johnson iced the game a minute later with a 3-pointer that gave Brooklyn a 15-point lead again.