Pistons beat Raptors to snap historic 28-game losing streak،
DETROIT — The Pistons ended their NBA-record 28-game losing streak with a 129-127 victory over the short-handed Toronto Raptors on Saturday night, as Cade Cunningham had 30 points and 12 assists.
The Pistons, who hadn't won since Oct. 28, tied the Philadelphia 76ers' record of 28, spanning the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, with an overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday. This tied the record for the longest losing streak in NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB history. Detroit, however, set the NBA single-season record with its 27th consecutive loss earlier this week.
“I feel amazing,” Cunningham said. “We kept fighting. It's been a long time, all these losses, but I'm just happy to be part of a group of guys that don't give up.”
Jalen Duren had 18 points and 17 rebounds for Detroit (3-29), while Kevin Knox II scored 17.
“I’m so happy we were able to get this,” Duren said. “We fought hard for a few months to get one, and we went through a lot of adversity.”
Pascal Siakam had 35 points and Dennis Schroder finished with 28 for Toronto, which was playing the second half of a back-to-back game. The Raptors traded OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks earlier today. They received RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, but they were unavailable Saturday.
“It was a very emotional day for everyone,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “I’m really proud of the energy our guys had, taking everything into account.
“I don't want to take anything away from what Detroit did either. They played a very good game and made some very, very timely shots.”
The Pistons led 90-86 heading into Game 4, and neither team was able to put together a run until back-to-back 3-pointers from Cunningham and Jaden Ivey made it 110-99 with 5: 50 to play.
Toronto responded with an 8-2 run, including six points from Scottie Barnes, but Cunningham's jumper made it 114-107. The Pistons got three straight stops against Siakam. Another jumper from Cunningham pushed the margin to nine with 1:34 to play.
Siakam's 3-point basket made it 126-122 with 17 seconds left, but the Pistons clinched the victory at the line. Gary Trent Jr. made a 3-pointer with one second left, but the celebration was already beginning.
“I've been in tons of locker rooms my whole life, but this is a first for me,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “The guys were screaming. I was almost in tears. I'm so happy for our guys and everyone in the locker room.”
The Raptors trailed by eight points at halftime, but Siakam and Trent scored 24 points in eight minutes to give Toronto a 75-74 lead. Siakam finished with 20 of Toronto's 42 points in the quarter and, more importantly, led Cunningham to the bench with four fouls.
“I challenged both [Siakam] and Scottie at halftime,” Rajakovic said. “I told them we needed more from them in the second half, and they both did a really good job.”
The Raptors scored 83 points in the second half after scoring just 44 in the first.
“We missed a few free throws and we missed a number of layups that we usually make,” Rajakovic said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
