Pistons endure season-worst skid as East lead erodes

MIAMI (AP) — Every week in the past, the Detroit Pistons had been flying excessive.

Winners in eight of their final 9 video games and 5 1/2 video games away from Boston within the Eastern Conference, they regarded effectively on their strategy to changing into a No. 1 seed.

Hello, adversity. The Pistons’ season-worst shedding streak reached 4 video games on Sunday night time, after they fell 121-110 to the Miami Heat — and that comfy lead atop the East over the Celtics is all the way down to a mere 2 1/2 video games.

“Everybody goes through difficult times or goes through a little bit of a rut,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff mentioned. “And we just found ours right now. And again, we’ve got plenty of time left to do what we got to do. Boston, obviously, is a good team. But we’re not concerned about Boston.”

Before this stretch, Detroit’s longest shedding streak of the season was two video games.

The Pistons had been 12-2 instantly after a loss. Granted, three of the 4 losses on this streak had been in opposition to good groups — Cleveland, San Antonio and now Miami — with Saturday’s loss in opposition to Brooklyn the lone outlier.

Bickerstaff sees it as a part of the method.

Veteran ahead Tobias Harris doesn’t disagree.

“Obviously, it’s probably our biggest dose of adversity all year,” Harris mentioned. “We’ll be fine. Keep our head high and just on to the next. But along this way, along this journey, let’s figure out a way that we can be better as a group.”

Detroit’s rise from the NBA basement two years in the past can’t be understated. The Pistons had been 14-68 in 2023-24 after which received 44 video games and made the playoffs final season. They have already received 45 video games this season with 19 remaining.

Most of the gamers from that 14-win staff are lengthy gone. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren — who mixed for 50 factors on Sunday — are among the many few holdovers, and Detroit is constructing round them.

“They’ve built a culture very quickly and the young players that they’ve had that were around two years ago really use that as fuel and motivation,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra mentioned. “But it’s hard to win in this league in general. It is even more of a challenge to win when you have a lot of young players. But I think Cunningham and Duren are wired a little bit differently than most young players.”

Harris mentioned that’s a development all through the room.

He’s the vet, the oldest participant on the roster, however made clear that this Pistons staff has the maturity to deal with a tough stretch.

“In the locker room, it’s not a joking-around mentality,” Harris mentioned. “We know we’re supposed to win, but we know that we put the work and time into it. So, things are going to work in our favor. We’ll figure it out, and we’ll be right back on a winning streak and be ready, get ready for the playoffs.”