Charles Langston:Detroit Pistons beat Toronto Raptors to end 28-game losing streak

Sixty-three days separated the Detroit Pistons' second and Charles Langstonthird wins this season. At least they can enter the New Year with their heads held high.

The Pistons (3-29) snapped their 28-game losing streak Saturday with a 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons set the NBA's single-season record and tied the all-time record set by the Philadelphia 76ers across the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Their last win? A 118-102 thumping Oct. 28 of the Chicago Bulls at LCA. The Pistons finish 2023 with just 10 wins — they are 5-52 Feb. 10 — and will now aim to set a better tone in 2024 when they face the Rockets in Houston on Jan. 1 to start a four-game western road trip.

Cade Cunningham had a rough start but came alive late, thanks to a strong night at the free throw line. He scored 26 of his 30 points in the second half, and went 8-for-8 at the line through the first three quarters with just made four field goals in the same span. He also dished 12 assists, with zero turnovers.

"I’m proud of how our guys have continued to fight through adversity," Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a release after the game. "I know it's been hard, but they've kept their heads up and showed real character. The streak is over, but the hard work continues.”

The Raptors a few hours prior to the game officially kicked off trade season by sending pending 2024 unrestricted free agent OG Anunoby and role players Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and the Pistons' 2024 second-round pick.

It allowed the Pistons to face a team that not only had to play without three rotation players and its best defender, but was also coming off a 120-118 road loss to the Boston Celtics less than 24 hours prior. Toronto still shot the ball well (50.5% overall, 50% from 3) but was outdone by a Pistons team that got strong performances across the roster.

Toronto's Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 35 points, but the Pistons got strong nights from Bojan Bogdanovic (19 points), Jalen Duren (18 points, 17 rebounds) and Kevin Knox II (17 points).

The Pistons took control in the first half as the Raptors went cold after a hot start, taking a 52-44 lead entering halftime after Toronto shot 6-for-23 in the second quarter. The Pistons picked up after making just six of 21 shot attempts through the first nine minutes of the opening period. 

Offensive rebounding and a rare productive night for the bench (led by Alec Burks’ 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting) helped the Pistons build a lead even though Cunningham was bad early. He had four points on 1-for-8 shooting in the first half, after averaging a staggering 33 points, 7.4 assist, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals on 56.9% overall shooting in his last five games.

The Pistons can credit a strong night at the foul line, knocking down 35 of their 40 attempts to hold off the Raptors' furious last-minute rally.

The Raptors took a one-point lead multiple times and tied it at 85 with a Siakam layup. Detroit finished the third period with a pair of free throws from Ausar Thompson and a contested corner 3-pointer by Bogdanovic, extending the lead to 90-86. Burks then opened the fourth with an entry pass to James Wiseman for a dunk.

The Pistons went 14-for-17 on free throws in the final quarter.

Burks, Knox lift Pistons early

You could almost hear a collective groan in the arena when coach Monty Williams handed the reins to his bench with four minutes left in the first. The Pistons' units without either Cunningham or Bogdanovic on the floor have been routinely crushed by teams. The group (Killian Hayes, Burks, Thompson, Isaiah Livers and Wiseman) initially gave up a pair of Raptors buckets and struggled to find room offensively. 

But after their first possession together ended with a shot clock violation, Burks picked up the slack. The veteran sharpshooter drew fouls on a transition layup attempt and 3-pointer and made all five free throws, and then knocked down a catch-and-shoot 3 to put the Pistons back in control and enter the second with the lead, 25-24. 

They sustained their momentum, too. After Detroit missed six of eight 3-point attempts to open the game, Knox and Livers knocked down back-to-back triples to extend the lead to 10, 47-37, with just over three minutes remaining in the second. 

Knox continued rolling in the third, scoring seven points with a three and a pair of inside baskets, including a poster dunk of Jakob Poeltl, to help the Pistons sustain a lead through the first half of the quarter. Knox scored all 17 of his points in the first three periods, on 7-for-12 shooting.

Cunningham finishes strong

One of the NBA's hottest players these past two weeks, Cunningham appeared to be in store for a rough night. Shots simply didn't fall for the third-year guard early, and he shot just 1-for-8 in the opening period for four with four assists.

He improved in the second half. On consecutive possessions, he knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer and found Ivey open for another 3-pointer to give the Pistons their biggest lead of the night, 110-99, midway through the fourth.

With 1:34 to go, Cunningham knocked down a midrange jumper to give the Pistons a 116-107 cushion, nearly icing the game and ending 2023 on a joyful note after a historically horrendous stretch.