The turnaround in Detroit is real. The Pistons won their 13th game in a row on Monday with a 122-117 win over the Pacers, tying a record for the longest winning streak in franchise history.
Just two seasons ago, Detroit tied an NBA record for the longest losing streak in league history as the Pistons lost a whopping 28 games in a row. Detroit’s 28-game skid was the longest over a single season as the 76ers also lost 28 in a row, but did so between multiple seasons in a winless stretch that spanned from the 2014-15 season to the following fall.
With a reworked roster coupled with a new coach and front office, the Pistons are all the way back to NBA prominence as they sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 15-2 record.
Detroit’s current 13-game streak ties a mark the franchise has set twice previously. The other streaks came in the 1989-90 and 2003-04 seasons, and the Pistons went on to win the title in both years. Monday’s win in Indiana didn’t come easy, as the Pacers made a fourth-quarter comeback to make the game interesting. Indiana went on a 14-2 run to trim the Pistons’ lead to just two points with 49 seconds left, but Detroit’s superstar guard Cade Cunningham made a clutch jumper with 25 seconds left to bring the game back to two possessions.
Cunningham led Detroit with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. His pick-and-roll partner Jalen Duren had a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double as he continues his strong start to the season.
The Pistons can break the franchise record against the Celtics in an NBA Cup game in Boston on Wednesday where they have an opportunity to get their 14th straight win. In an era where teams at the bottom of the NBA go through plenty of trials and tribulations to reach the top, the Pistons have expedited the process. They have certainly taken their lumps over the years, most notably with their 28-game losing streak two years ago.
That historic mark is in the past now, as Detroit finds itself suddenly on the right side of history.