LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The Detroit Pistons inched closer to NBA ignominy on Thursday, Dec. 21, as they dropped a 119-111 decision to the Utah Jazz on their home floor for a 25th straight defeat.
The Pistons 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 76ers that spanned the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
“That’s history that nobody wants to be a part of,” dejected Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham said.
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 halftime, the Pistons tied it up at 84-84 in the third quarter before the Jazz pulled away again.
Kelly Olynyk led the Jazz with 27 points. Collin Sexton added 19, Ochai Agbaji scored 18 off the bench as six Jazz players scored in double figures.
Cunningham scored 28 points and handed out 10 assists for the Pistons.
Shooting guard Jaden Ivey scored 24 and Marvin Bagley III another 22 for Detroit, but no other Pistons players reached double figures as the Pistons — an iconic franchise that won NBA titles in 1989, 1990 and 2004 — remained without a win since October 28.
“I am sick right now,” said 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.”
Pistons coach Monty Williams called it “a tough one to swallow.”
Fans at Little Caesars Arena thought so too, chanting “Sell the team” as the final seconds ticked down.
In Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and rookie center Chet Holmgren added 23 to led the Thunder to a 134-115 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers that ended the Clippers’ nine-game winning streak.
Holmgren’s spectacular dunk — that he jammed home off his own bounce off the backboard — gave the Thunder the lead early in the third quarter and they didn’t trail again on the way to a fifth win in six games.
James Harden scored 23 points and Paul George added 22 for the Clippers, who were without forward Kawhi Leonard.
Former Thunder star Russell Westbrook came off the bench to score 15 points with a season-high 13 rebounds for the Clippers.
Timberwolves top Lakers
In Minneapolis, Anthony Edwards scored 27 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-111 victory over the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points for the Timberwolves as all five starters scored in double figures.
Anthony Davis scored 31 to lead the Lakers as LeBron James sat out with tendinitis in his left ankle.
The Milwaukee Bucks, fueled by 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo, beat the Orlando Magic 118-114 for a sixth straight victory.
Damian Lillard added 14 points and eight assists for the Bucks, who have now won 15 straight at their Fiserv Forum arena.
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.
Devin Vassell led the Spurs 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.
That ended the French prodigy’s streak of eight straight double-doubles, a league record for a teenager.
