DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons ended two months of misery on Saturday.
The Pistons halted an NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak, holding on to defeat the Toronto Raptors 129-127 at Little Caesars Arena.
Cade Cunningham’s 30 points helped Detroit (3-29) earn its first victory since Oct. 28, when the Pistons defeated the Chicago Bulls in their home opener, ESPN reported.
𝙁𝙄𝙉𝘼𝙇!! pic.twitter.com/ICfuESuVyn
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) December 31, 2023
On Thursday, the Pistons tied the NBA’s record for most consecutive losses. They matched the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their last 10 games of the 2014-15 season and then opened with 18 consecutive losses in 2015-16, ESPN reported.
The victory allowed Detroit to avoid tying the worst losing streak in North American pro sports history, the Detroit Free Press reported. The NFL’s Chicago Cardinals dropped 29 consecutive games between 1942 and 1945, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.
On Saturday, the Pistons led 52-44 at the half against the Raptors and held a 90-86 lead after three quarters.
In addition to Cunningham’s 30-point night, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 18 points, Jalen Duren had 18 points and 17 rebounds, and Kevin Knox added 17 points for Detroit, the Free Press reported.
Pascal Slakam scored 35 points and Dennis Schroder added 30 for Toronto (12-20).
On Thursday, Detroit lost 128-122 in overtime to the Boston Celtics after leading by 19 points at halftime, according to The Athletic. That tied the NBA record for consecutive losses, which was previously achieved across two different seasons.
Detroit set the single-season NBA record for consecutive losses in a season on Tuesday, falling 118-112 to the Brooklyn Nets for their 27th straight defeat.
That snapped the previous record of 26 losses, set in 2010-11 by the Cleveland Cavaliers and equaled by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013-14, USA Today reported.
Over the past 15 years, Detroit has been the only NBA franchise that has not won a playoff game, according to ESPN. It has the fewest regular-season wins (455) over that span.
