This is not the kind of record you want.
The Detroit Pistons made NBA history Tuesday night by becoming the first team to lose 27 straight games in a single season. They fell to the Brooklyn Nets, 118-112.
At 28 games, the Philadelphia 76ers still hold the record for the longest losing streak overall across two seasons.
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In a post-game press conference, Cade Cunningham, the 22-year-old guard who kept the team afloat by scoring 41 points, emphasized the need to stick together as players.
“A lot of my positivity comes from just the joy of the game … but there’s nothing positive about this situation right now that we’ve put ourselves in,” he said. “So that’s why we’ve got to dig deep and get ourselves out.”
In the same news conference, first-year Pistons coach Monty Williams said the Nets’ 13-point second-quarter streak was deflating to his team, despite a strong start.
“The formula for the game was pretty set,” he said. “And that’s something that’s plagued us all year long — just having that segment of the game or one quarter that put us in a hole and we just haven’t been able to do enough to overcome.”
At both this last game and after suffering their 25th straight loss, disappointed Pistons fans have chanted “sell the team” from the stands towards owner Tom Gores.
Even so, prior to the holiday, Gores shared an optimistic message on the losing streak.
“We have a good core. We have a good foundation. We have all these young players. And we have flexibility,” Gore said. “So we have to not panic and do the right thing, execute, and have urgency. So that’s our balance.”
According to a survey published on the NBA website, 10% of general managers voted the Pistons as the team with the most promising young core.
The Pistons will play the Celtics in Boston on Thursday.
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