The Detroit Pistons completed a winless month on Thursday as a 118-112 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden made it 16 successive defeats for the NBA’s worst team.
Jalen Brunson scored 42 points and Julius Randle added 29 for the Knicks as Detroit slipped to their 16th defeat in a row, a new franchise-worst run during a single campaign.
The last fifteen of those losses have come in November, making them just the eighth team in NBA history to go 0-15 or worse in a calendar month, and the first since the Philadelphia 76ers lost 16 in a row in November 2015.
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Pistons coach Monty Williams criticised his team’s lack of fight after their 126-107 loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday, and things got worse two days later as the Los Angeles Lakers eased to a 133-107 blowout win against them.
However, Williams was at least pleased to see Detroit keep things competitive against the Knicks, saying they could take positives from their performance.
“I saw the fight and resiliency that we can build on,” Williams said. “That’s a game that we can build on.
“I’m not into moral victories. I don’t know where that came from. Doesn’t make sense.
“But that was something, that game, that output, that energy, that production from our group… it is something that I’m proud of. That’s the kind of competitive edge that we have to play with every single night.”
Final from NY pic.twitter.com/lk45ctaor3
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) December 1, 2023
The Pistons are at least some way away from matching the worst single-season losing streak in NBA history, with the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 Sixers both losing 26 games in a row.
Detroit, who prop up the Eastern Conference with a 2-17 record, will look to halt their skid when they host the 10-9 Cavaliers at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.
