In the final game of 2023, the Pistons defeated the Raptors 129-127 at home, finally ending a long 28-game losing streak, just tying the longest losing streak in history (across seasons), not setting a new losing streak, and not becoming the first team to suffer a 30-game losing streak, but they also broke the record for the longest losing streak in a single season.
In fact, in the last game against the league's No. 1 Celtics, the Pistons were expected to end the losing streak, and they once led by 21 points, but unfortunately they were dragged into overtime by the Celtics and finally reversed. Today's game was also the first win for the Pistons in the past two months, with their last win coming against the Bulls on Oct. 30. Although the losing streak has ended, the Pistons' current record is still only 3-29, which is the bottom of the league.
It's worth mentioning that the Raptors became the backdrop today, which also has something to do with the trade they just made. Just before today's game, the Raptors and Knicks made a deal to send Anunoby, Achiuwa and Flynn to the Knicks in exchange for Barrett, Quickley and a 2024 second-round pick (from the Pistons), so the Raptors don't have a full roster today. Of course, the Pistons were also back-to-back today.
Cunningham played 38 minutes, shooting 9-of-20, 2-of-4 from three-point range, 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, scoring 30 points, 3 rebounds and 12 assists with no turnovers and a plus/minus of +1. In the first half, Cunningham scored just four points on 1-of-8 shooting, but scored 26 points in the second half. It was the 12th time in Cunningham's career that he scored 30+ points in a single game, and his first win, after all 11 of them were empty cuts.
Duren played 34 minutes, shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line to finish with 18 points, 17 rebounds and two assists. Bojan Bogdanovic played steadily, playing 36 minutes on 7-of-14 shooting, 2-of-6 three-pointers, 3-of-5 free throws, 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and turnovers.
The Raptors have 4 players scoring 20+, and Siakam and Schroder also both scored 30+. Siakam played 40 minutes, shooting 14-of-24 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line, finishing with 35 points, five rebounds and four assists, two turnovers and a plus/minus of -5. Schroder started the game for 37 minutes, shooting 11-of-18, including 3-of-6 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line, for 30 points and nine assists, with a plus/minus of +4.