Detroit, MI

Detroit Pistons tied win streak record, but they have more to do

Published

3 months ago

November 25, 2025

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Detroit Pistons tied win streak record, but they have more to do

INDIANAPOLIS — A special night for the Detroit Pistons also was a study in contrasts.

Two years ago to the day – on Nov. 24, 2023, right there in Gainbridge Fieldhouse – they were outscored by 22 points in the fourth quarter by the Indiana Pacers en route to their 13th straight defeat. That loss, though one of many, wasn’t quite historic – it was merely near the halfway point of their eventual 28-game losing streak to set an NBA record.

And now, in 2025, the Pistons are streaking again. Their 122-117 win over the Pacers on Monday was their 13th win in a row, tying a franchise record previously set in the 1989-90 season and matched in 2003-04 — seasons that both ended with NBA titles.

Monday’s win was the Pistons’ 15th this season – one more than they won in all of that 2023-24 campaign, the franchise’s worst. This season, at 15-2 overall, Detroit has the best record in the East and is on pace for 72 wins, which would far outdo last year’s 44-win total, not to mention the franchise record of 64 wins in 2005-06 – the only other 15-2 start in Pistons history.

But the lack of fanfare Monday night might say more about this team’s growth than the win itself. The Pistons acknowledged the significance of it, but otherwise? It was business as usual during postgame interviews at the podium and in the locker room.

“We never talked about it,” guard Cade Cunningham said of the streak. “We wanted to find our way to the top of the league. We’ve seen the bottom of the league before. It’s pretty cool that we had the worst streak in franchise history and now we have an opportunity to go have the greatest streak in franchise history.

“We’re excited about the opportunity, but this is just a product of the work,” continued Cunningham, who led the effort with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. “This isn’t what we were going for; we still have bigger things to do.”

The mood was mellow afterward, in part, because what should’ve been a decisive win turned into a nailbiter. The Pistons led by 18 early in the fourth quarter before slipping defensively and allowing the Pacers to hit 11 of 21 shots (52.4%) to whittle it down to two points with under two minutes to play.

They held on thanks to clutch work from Cunningham, who knocked down a hook to make it a two-possession game late, and a pair of clinching free throws from Caris LeVert. After the game, coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he wants the team to be “greedier” in such moments and continue executing defensively.

“I don’t want to be dismissive, and I understand what the accomplishment is and how rare and unique it is, obviously,” Bickerstaff said. “Our focus has to be on Wednesday, and then it’s gotta be on practice and film tomorrow. But that’s where we’ll focus. We don’t take it for granted by any means, because we know how difficult these things are to come by. We’ve gotta get to tomorrow.”

To sustain success, the team understands it has to value the process over results.

“We’ve gotta stay hungry,” Cunningham said. “Can’t start feeling like we’re getting above ourselves or got everything figured out. It’s a long season. One game can send you in a spiral, we’ve seen that before.”

Even the most optimistic projections for the Pistons fell well short of where they currently are – and what they’re on pace to accomplish. They own the second-best record in the NBA, behind only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (at 17-1), thanks to their third-ranked defense and a roster improved both at the top and bottom.

Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart are two of the league’s best defenders and spearhead a physical, stifling approach on that end of the floor. And the Pistons’ bench has revealed itself as one of the deepest in the league, allowing them to weather injuries to core players.

Tobias Harris recently returned from a nine-game absence. LeVert has missed five, Thompson four, Cunningham and Stewart three apiece. Daniss Jenkins has been the best two-way contract player in the league – a legitimate NBA talent. Paul Reed and Javonte Green have maximized their limited roles. The Pistons have stacked wins with every healthy player contributing toward them.

There’s a maturity and confidence with this group, born of being tested by historic adversity two years ago and a physical six-game, first-round playoff exit against the New York Knicks in April.

The Pistons are on the cusp of setting a franchise record with a 14th straight win; that can come when they face the Boston Celtics on the road Wednesday (5 p.m., ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). In a long season, the Pistons still have much to prove. But winning feels good, especially for the cohort of players who experienced the bottom two years ago.

“We were talked bad about, we were the laughingstocks, and now that the tables have turned, everybody wants to be on this side,” Stewart said. “Everybody wants to be on the wagon and everybody wants to say great things about us. That’s a good thing, that’s a good thing. We’re not taking that lightly. All we’re doing is just keeping our heads down and taking it day by day.”

MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify)]

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Pistons’ loss to Cavs shows weaknesses before playoffs

Published

4 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Pistons’ loss to Cavs shows weaknesses before playoffs

CLEVELAND – In just five days, the Detroit Pistons faced the Cleveland Cavaliers twice.

They split the games to finish their season series against the Central Division rivals, but with a potential reunion looming in the second round of the NBA playoffs, the Pistons came away from both games unsatisfied.

On Friday, it was the Pistons needing overtime to overcome a Cavaliers team missing James Harden and Donovan Mitchell at Little Caesars Arena. On Tuesday, March 3, in Cleveland, however – with Harden back in the lineup – the Pistons struggled in the areas they usually thrive, for a 113-109 loss.

The Pistons’ first loss on the road since Jan. 29 didn’t feature their usual fire for much of the night.

“I’m frustrated with the effort level, the attention to detail that we played on that end of the floor,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The times and opportunities where we did do the right thing, did get stops, we let people outwork us to come up with offensive rebounds. We can’t afford to not play at maximum effort. That’s been our superpower all year long and, tonight, I felt like there were times where we were outworked. If we’re outworked, this isn’t going to be the results that we want.”

The Pistons work at being the league’s most disruptive team via turnovers has given them a top-three defensive rating. They force turnovers on 17.2% of possessions – best in the NBA –and only trail the Houston Rockets in offensive rebounding percentage. They also lead the league in steals and blocks per game. Getting out in transition and capitalizing on second-chance opportunities has created an above-average offense despite struggles on 3-point shooting.

For three quarters against the Cavaliers, little of that materialized – as least until the Pistons grabbed seven steals in the final period (after just two in the first three). Overall, the Pistons were beat on the offensive glass (11-10), mustered just 10 fastbreak points (their lowest total since Jan. 27) and picked up 11 second-chance points (their least since Feb. 6).

It was, in all, a lackadaisical defensive performance, with the Pistons repeatedly losing shooters behind the arc as the Cavs knocked down 17 3-pointers – eight more than the Pistons.

“Obviously they’re a good team, but we haven’t been playing to our standard on that side of the ball,” Pistons wing Javonte Green said. “Coach talked about the effort we need to bring every game. We just need to play harder. We can’t get outworked on offensive rebounds and 50-50 balls, that’s our identity. I feel like we needed to pick up that slack.”

The Pistons also were hurt by a poor shooting performance by Cade Cunningham; he finished with 10 points and 14 assists but shot 4-for-16. Cleveland threw multiple defenders at him all night, and he obliged by passing the ball and setting up his teammates. It led to a big second half for Tobias Harris, who scored all 19 of his points in the last two quarters.

But it wasn’t enough.

“On the defensive end we just couldn’t put up a wall, couldn’t get a stand going,” Cunningham said. “Personally, I had a lot of bad closeouts; just off the ball, I didn’t feel sharp. Just gotta clean all that stuff up.”

With 22 games remaining, the Pistons are focused on cleaning up the margins so they’ll be ready for postseason play. These two games against the Cavaliers have given them a list of areas to clean up.

Friday, they needed an extra period to win after rallying from a late nine-point deficit despite losing Cunningham late after he fouled out with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Jalen Duren and Daniss Jenkins stepped up in overtime after Duncan Robinson also fouled out.

Mostly, the Cavaliers have proven they can pounce during soft stretches on defense. Thursday brings another rematch with a contender, as the Pistons wrap up a three-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs (another opponent from last week).

“We didn’t play our best basketball the other night,” Bickerstaff said of the Cavaliers’ game on Feb. 27. “Give our guys credit because we played 53 minutes and were able to pull it out in some adverse conditions. Cade fouls out, Duncan fouls out, our guys still figure out a way to get it done.

“We need to be better. We need to be better defensively, we need to impose ourselves on the game a little bit more than we did last game. I thought the last two quarters of the Orlando game [on Sunday] were the best quarters we’ve played defensively since New York [on Feb. 19]. I hope, and told our guys, that we can continue to build off that, because that’s where it always starts for us. You can tell the tone by how we are defensively and how we’re getting after it.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.

[ MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube. ]

Next up: Spurs

Matchup: Pistons (45-15) at San Antonio (44-17).

Tipoff: 8 p.m. Thursday, March 5; Frost Bank Center, San Antonio.

TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

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Detroit, MI

Police search for suspect, accomplice after teen injured in shooting outside Detroit school gym

Published

16 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Police search for suspect, accomplice after teen injured in shooting outside Detroit school gym

March 3, 2026 / 6:54 PM EST
/ CBS Detroit

The Detroit Police Department is searching for a suspect and an accomplice in connection with a shooting last week that injured a teen outside a school gym.

The shooting happened in the 3400 block of St. Aubin, the same area where the Detroit Edison Public School Academy’s Early College of Excellence is located. Police say that at about 8:27 p.m. on Feb. 27, there was an altercation inside the gym that continued outside.

Detroit police are searching for a suspect and their accomplice in connection with a shooting outside a school.

Detroit Police Department

Police say the suspect allegedly fired multiple shots at the victim, striking him. The teen was taken to a hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown.

Police say the accomplice who was with the suspect was also armed.

Anyone with information is asked to call DPD’s seventh precinct at 313-596-5740, Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up or DetroitRewards.tv.

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Detroit, MI

Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans

Treatment will delay the Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new film ‘Ernie & Emma’ this summer.

Royal Oak-born movie star and cult hero Bruce Campbell announced on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed cancer — a type that is “treatable” but not “curable,” he said.

“I apologize if that’s a shock — it was to me too,” the “Evil Dead” star, 67, wrote in a message posted to Instagram.

He went on to say “I’m not gonna go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He said the public announcement had to do with scaling back appearances on his schedule, including tour dates behind his latest film, “Ernie & Emma.”

Campbell planned to show the movie June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date is still on the Redford schedule, but Campbell wrote in his note he plans to get “as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”

The movie is written, directed by and stars Campbell as a man who goes on a journey following the death of his wife. Campbell produced the movie alongside his wife, Ida Gearon, and filmed it in Oregon, where he now lives.

Campbell told The News in January he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood moviemaking pals, including Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.

“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the f–k we wanted to do,” Campbell said of “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this,’ so they’re all in there.”

Campbell got his start making movies around Metro Detroit with his childhood pal, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has since appeared in most of Raimi’s films; Campbell makes a brief appearance in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s latest, “Send Help.”

He’s also an author; Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” was published in 2001.

In his post on social media, Campbell thanked fans and said he was not out to elicit sympathy.

“Fear not, I am a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,” he wrote.

agraham@detroitnews.com

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