Detroit Pistons players on Saturday sat in stunned silence in one corner of the locker room, staring blankly ahead. The worst stretch of basketball in their lives now ranks as one of the worst in NBA history.
Detroit matched the league record for the longest losing streak in a single season, falling 126-115 to the Brooklyn Nets for their 26th straight loss.
“None of us went through this, ever,” center Isaiah Stewart said. “This is the hardest thing probably all of us went through, especially being in the pros.”
Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY
The Pistons joined the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-2014 Philadelphia 76ers, dropping to 2-27 in their first season under Monty Williams.
They were in the game in the second half before the Nets put them away with a 15-0 run to open a 21-point lead and ensure that Detroit would remain winless since Oct. 28.
The teams meet again tomorrow in Detroit, with the Pistons nearing the overall longest skid in league history. The 76ers lost 28 consecutive games from late in the 2014-2015 season through early 2015-2016.
“Everybody wants to win, everybody hates losing, so it’s hard,” guard Cade Cunningham said. “We’ve got to be realistic as well. Can’t just keep saying the same things over and over, like we’ll get the next one. There has to be like a plan of action, so we’re just trying to figure that out.”
Mikal Bridges had 29 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Nets, who put seven players in double figures and snapped their five-game losing streak. Cam Thomas scored 20 points.
The Nets shot 52 percent from the field, showing plenty of energy in their second night of back-to-back games after losing to the NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Friday. They got some easy baskets thanks to the Pistons, whose 14 turnovers led to 22 points.
Williams said he did not feel like their bad play was leading to bad luck for the Pistons.
“We had a lot of tough breaks this year, but I try not to look at life that way. It just happens,” he said. “When you turn it over 14 times you don’t expect 22 points, but it happens. Those live turnovers, they’re basketball death for possessions and we’ve had a lot of those this year.”
Elsewhere, LeBron James scored a season-high 40 points, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 129-120 to snap a four-game losing streak.
The 38-year-old James was 13 of 20 from the field, hitting five three-pointers without a miss, and made all nine of his free throws. He also had seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.
Oklahoma City trimmed what had been a 26-point deficit with 3 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third quarter to eight points midway through the fourth quarter. James then took over, scoring 11 points in the final 4:29 to help the Lakers hold on.
“To know I can go out and still make game-winning plays, can affect the game in multiple ways and can still close out a game in the fourth quarter when our team needed when they started making a run is always a good feeling for sure,” James said.
In Saturday’s other games, the Boston Celtics dominated the Los Angeles Clippers 145-108, the Minnesota Timberwolves outplayed the Sacramento Kings 110-98, the Dallas Mavericks topped the San Antonio Spurs 144-119 and the Memphis Grizzlies survived the Atlanta Hawks 125-119.
The Milwaukee Bucks took down the New York Knicks 130-111, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 102-95 and the San Francisco Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 126-106.
The Houston Rockets edged the New Orleans Pelicans 106-104, the Toronto Raptors overcame the Utah Jazz 126-119, the Orlando Magic beat the Indiana Pacers 117-110 and the Cleveland Cavaliers bested the Chicago Bulls 109-95.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS