The Pistons ended their 28-game losing streak, Cunningham scored 30 points and 12 assists, and Sika scored 35 points
On December 31, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a key matchup, with the Pistons hosting the Raptors. The reason why we say focus is because there are some things going on on on both teams. The Pistons started with a record of 2 wins and 29 losses, and the latest wave of 28 consecutive losses has set a new NBA record for consecutive losses in a single season. The defensive motivation is not high, and the offensive end is siloed. As the leader of the team, Cunningham has averaged 31.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game in the past six games, but he is really alone.
The Raptors, on the other hand, reached a 3-for-3 deal with the Knicks in the early hours of this morning, sending Anunoby + Achiuwa + Flynn to get Barrett + Quickley + 24 second-round picks. Anunoby is averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game this season, Barrett is averaging 18.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this season, and Quickley is averaging 15 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season. Basically, the main body is 1 for 2, the Knicks' purpose is very simple, they need to find a defensive stable forward blue collar next to Randle and Brunson, according to the American media, Anunoby originally wanted to exceed the average salary of 40 million, but after joining the Knicks, he was willing to lower this standard. The Raptors are actually running for the purpose of rebuilding, Barrett is young enough, and the Woj report confirms that the Raptors will continue to explore a trade for Sika!
Because Sika will be a full free agent next summer, he will have to act before the trade deadline. The Raptors' new roster framework is basically built around Barnes and Barrett. Back to this game, due to the involvement of transactions and physical examinations, the Raptors are short of more people, and the starters are: Schroder + Trent + Barnes + Sika + Boltle, and the Pistons starters are: Cunningham + Ivey + Bogdanovic + Knox + Duren. At the beginning of the game, Boltel tossed, Sika received the ball and scored three points, Cunningham and Bogda took turns to single, Schroder continued to jump + feed Sika dunk, Duren and Ivey actively made kills, and the scores of the two teams were very tight. Burks hit a three-pointer in the middle of the period, Schroder and Sika broke through to respond, and in the second half, Burks made a three-point foul and threw in a three-pointer.
At the end of the first quarter, the Pistons led the Raptors 25-24. Back in the second quarter, Barnes hit a three-pointer to stop the Pistons, Wiseman ate the cake, Thompson made a layup, and Bogda singled in a row to help the Pistons score. Both teams relied on singles to sustain themselves, but the Pistons were very efficient overall, with Duren attacking in the middle, Knox counterattacking and dunking, Rivers hitting a three-pointer, and the Pistons slowly widening the difference. During this period, the Raptors only had Schroder three points to stop the bleeding. In the second half, Schroder continued to score three points, Cunningham fed Duren and Knox inside and out, the Pistons opened a 10-point difference, Schroder accelerated to the layup at the end of the quarter, and the Pistons led the Raptors 52-44 at halftime, is the end of the 28-game losing streak just today?
At the beginning of the second half, Trent stepped back with a steal, Schroder ate a cake and made a layup, Bogda and Knox responded with a three-point rain, and the point difference was opened up again. In the middle of the period, Trent hit three-pointers one after another, Sika broke through to the basket, Cunningham forced a 2+1 attack to stop the bleeding, and then fed Duren and Knox dunks in a row. In the second half, Schroder and Terence continued to rain three-pointers, and the Raptors finally overtook the score, and Cunningham and Burks attacked the basket, and the two teams fell into a tug-of-war. At the end of the quarter, Burks hit another three-pointer, after which Wiseman made a layup, Bogda forced a three-pointer, and the Pistons always maintained the lead, and the Pistons played 90-86 Raptors in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Wiseman dunked + hit consecutive shots, and Trent led the team to narrow the gap again. Cunningham added a three-pointer and then went on to make consecutive layups with Bogda to open up the gap. In the middle of the section, Cunningham and Ivey rained three-pointers, and the difference reached double digits! The Raptors relied on Barnes to chase 6 points in a row to maintain suspense, and in the last 2 minutes, Cunningham continued to play singles, Barnes and Sika forced layups to chase points, the Raptors continued to use foul tactics, Cunningham and Duren hit consecutive free throws, Sika's three-point shot kept the suspense, and the last 1 minute played for more than 15 minutes, and finally the Pistons narrowly defeated the Raptors 129-127, ending a 28-game losing streak!
Raptors statistics, Schroder 30 points and 9 assists, Trent 24 points, 4 assists and 4 steals, Sika 35 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Barnes 22 points and 9 rebounds. Pistons statistics, Cunningham 30 points, 12 assists and 3 rebounds, Duren 18 points and 17 rebounds, Ivey 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Bogdanovic 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Knox 17 points, Burks 16 points, Wiseman 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks. Congratulations to the Pistons for ending the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history, the Raptors have not given up their efforts in the last moments, but there is no point in chasing 2 points all the time.