Detroit Pistons drop 25th straight, nearing longest NBA losing streak

LOS ANGELES – The Detroit Pistons have run out of ideas, as they inched closer to National Basketball Association (NBA) ignominy on Dec 21 after losing 119-111 to the Utah Jazz on their home floor for a 25th straight defeat.

They are now one loss away from matching the NBA’s longest single-season losing streak of 26 games – by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers.

The longest losing streak ever was the 28-game slide of the Sixers that spanned the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

“That’s history that nobody wants to be a part of,” said a dejected Detroit point guard Cade Cunningham, who led his team with 28 points, six rebounds and 10 assists.

“We’re not 2-26 bad – no way are we that bad. I still think we can turn this around. We can play a much better brand of basketball.”

Utah, playing the second night of a back-to-back without Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker, had looked to offer the Pistons a golden opportunity to halt the slide.

But after a bright start that saw Detroit lead by as many as eight points in the first quarter, the Jazz turned the tide with a 13-0 scoring run that saw them take a 45-32 lead early in the second period.

Trailing 64-58 at half-time, the Pistons tied it up at 84-84 late in the third quarter before the Jazz pulled away again.

Kelly Olynyk led Utah (11-18) with 27 points. Collin Sexton added 19 and Ochai Agbaji scored 18 off the bench, as six Jazz players scored in double figures.

“I want to be careful with my words, as this one hurts more than most of them,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said.

“A team that played last night got (50) points off turnovers and rebounds tonight. It is unbelievably hard to understand how we can get outworked in those categories.”

Shooting guard Jaden Ivey scored 24 and Marvin Bagley III another 22 for Williams’ team, but no other Detroit player reached double figures as the Pistons – an iconic franchise who won NBA titles in 1989, 1990 and 2004 – remained without a win since Oct 28.

“I am sick right now,” added Cunningham, who was coming off a 43-point performance in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

“Me personally, six turnovers – kills us. We had 20 as a team, gave up 27 points off of it. That kills us.”

Williams ultimately called the defeat “a tough one to swallow.”

Fans at Little Caesars Arena thought so too, chanting “Sell the team” as the final seconds ticked down.

Elsewhere, Anthony Edwards scored 27 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Minneapolis.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points for the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves (21-6), who bounced back from a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers. Rudy Gobert notched a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Anthony Davis scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Lakers (15-14), who lost their fourth consecutive game.

Lakers star LeBron James did not play on the second night of a back-to-back set because of what the team described as a sore left ankle. Gabe Vincent also sat out because of a left knee injury.

“We’ll break through this thing, once we get guys back healthy, get guys back in rhythm,” Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham said of his side’s slump. “We’ll be OK.”

The San Antonio Spurs endured their 21st defeat in 22 games, falling 114-95 to the Bulls in Chicago.

Coby White scored 22 points and DeMar DeRozan added 21 for the Bulls (13-17).

Devin Vassell led the Spurs (4-23) with 21 points as rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, back after missing one game with a sore ankle, scored a season-low seven points with five rebounds and five assists.

That ended the French prodigy’s streak of eight straight double-doubles, a league record for a teenager. AFP, REUTERS