The Detroit Pistons’ record-tying win streak came to a halt on Wednesday. They’ll look to start another one and nail down a spot in the NBA Cup knockout round when they host the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
The Pistons matched the franchise record with 13 consecutive victories before falling to Boston, 117-114. Cade Cunningham poured in 42 points but missed the last of three free throws to even the game in the closing seconds.
“We understand it’s one game. And we understand we didn’t play our best basketball,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “There were things that we could have done better and we still put ourselves in position to have a shot at it at the end of the game.
“We’re still learning and hopefully we’re not as good now as we’ll be in April.”
Boston knocked down 20 of 43 3-point attempts and Bickerstaff felt his team’s perimeter defense was lacking. Celtics guard Derrick White led the outside barrage by making 6 of 11 from long range.
“It was some self-inflicted things,” Bickerstaff said. “Derrick White likes to shoot off the bounce, right? That little hesitation dribble. We weren’t up on them as tight as we needed to be.”
The loss on Wednesday counted towards the NBA Cup group stage. The Pistons are 2-1 in the preliminary round, while Orlando has won all three of its NBA Cup games in East Group B. The winner of Friday’s contest will automatically move on to the knockout stage of the in-season tournament.
The Magic are coming off a record-breaking and somewhat heated 144-103 win over Philadelphia. Guard Jalen Suggs was ejected late in the first half during a scuffle. Orlando scored 51 second-quarter points, the most points in a quarter in franchise history.
“It was our defense. We decided to turn up the defense on a different level and it got us easy baskets, easy runouts,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “They were mixing the defenses up, trying to stall us out a little bit and I think our guys did a very good job of keeping their focus on what we needed to do offensively — sharing it, moving it, playing faster after getting our stops.”
Star forward Paolo Banchero missed his seventh straight game due to a left groin strain and won’t return on Friday. Guard Anthony Black scored a career-best 31 points against the Sixers.
“I had a couple shots I might get looked at sideways for. Just being aggressive, taking risks, trusting myself,” he said.
Orlando has won seven of its last nine games. Without Banchero, five different players have led the team in scoring over the last five games.
“We’re just unselfish,” guard Desmond Bane said. “I think that we’re playing for the next man. Guys are making shots. Guys are playing with a lot of confidence. It’s free. It’s fun.”
The Pistons began their lengthy winning streak with a 135-116 win over the Magic on Oct. 29. Cunningham led the way with 30 points and Tobias Harris tossed in 23.
