RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks guards the Detroit Pistons during a game on November 30, 2023. Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
The Detroit Pistons almost snapped their 15-game losing streak, but instead, extended it to 16.
Facing the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden last night, the bright lights of The Mecca were almost able to be overcome by the 2-17 Pistons. However, despite erasing a 16-point deficit, the Knicks had an answer for everything the Pistons tried to cook up. They would ultimately lose the game 118-112, marking 16 consecutive losses.
Winless in November
The Pistons have not won a game all of November, going 0-16. They have not won a game since October 28 against the Chicago Bulls. Now, Detroit sits at 2-17, and are the worst team in the NBA. For those wondering, the NBA record for most consecutive losses is 26, so the Pistons aren’t quite there yet. Meanwhile, despite a sloppy game, the Knicks improved to 11-7 and are rolling.
Jalen Brunson put up 42 points, three shy of 45, his season high. Julius Randle contributed with 29 points of his own, along with ten rebounds and eight assists. This season, the Knicks are 9-0 against losing teams with records under .500. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, however, was not thrilled with the way his squad played.
“[Detroit] play really hard, and I knew they wouldn’t go away,” said Thibodeau. “So I knew we were in for a dogfight. Our defense wasn’t very good tonight. Our rebounding wasn’t where it needed to be. In the end though we found a way to win, and that’s the bottom line: to find a way to win. Tonight we won with our offense. So win games in different ways, but obviously we have to do a lot better than we did.”
“It’s definitely a good feeling to see the ball go in the rim,” Brunson said, “but I think the one thing we can take away from this game is our defensive approach and mentality. We gotta be better. We gotta be better at holding leads and can’t put ourselves in a position where it’s a grind-it-out game when we had a comfortable lead. We respect them, but we have to be better in doing what we do.”
Putting Up a Fight
Despite the Pistons’ terrible record, they put up a fight in the game. Cade Cunningham put up 31 points, Killian Hayes scored 23, and Marcus Sasser off the bench put up 17. They shot the ball pretty well, at 53% and 43%, but committed 25 fouls and had 20 turnovers, which ultimately lead to their loss.
The Knicks will turn around and play the Raptors in Toronto tonight, just one day after their win at home. Meanwhile, the Pistons will head home to Detroit and play the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night.
