Two years ago to the day, the Detroit Pistons went into Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the Indiana Pacers and suffered their 13th consecutive defeat in what would become an infamous 28-game losing streak.
With an 122-117 win over these same Pacers in this same building Monday, the Pistons just won their 13th game in a row to tie a franchise record. Detroit’s previous instances winning 13 straight, in the 2003-04 and 1989-90 seasons, culminated in two NBA championships.
The win allows the Pistons (15-2) to maintain a 2 1/2 game advantage over the Toronto Raptors atop the Eastern Conference.
Cade Cunningham led the way with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, including a jump hook in the final minute with the shot clock winding down to hold off a late Indiana rally.
CADE PUTS DETROIT UP 4.
PISTONS SEEKING THEIR 13TH W IN A ROW. pic.twitter.com/KpVgK6msTr
— NBA (@NBA) November 25, 2025
His missed free throw on the ensuing possession gave Indiana one last chance to tie, but the Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin missed a game-tying corner 3 with 8.2 seconds left.
Monday’s win was just the latest example of how serious Detroit is. Cunningham has been the Pistons’ engine all season long, having entered this game on pace for career highs in points (27.4), assists (9.9) and steals (1.4).
As impressive as he has been to start the season, though, he’s spearheading a team that boasts the most depth he’s had in his in his five-year Pistons tenure. Center Jalen Duren, who’s been a double-double machine and Cunningham’s ace, is firmly in the Most Improved Player race and is making a case for being the Pistons’ second All-Star. At just 22 years old, Duren entered the game averaging more than 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Factor in a third-year leap from 23-year-old Ausar Thompson, the emergence of undrafted rookie Daniss Jenkins, offseason addition Duncan Robinson finding his rhythm on the preimeter and 2020 first-round pick Isaiah Stewart becoming one of the league’s best rim protectors while stretching the floor, and you have a recipe for a serious East contender. The recent return of 2022 No. 5 overall pick Jaden Ivey from injury further adds to Detroit’s depth.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who coached the Pistons the season before their 2004 Finals win, alluded to the similarities he sees between this season’s Detroit squad and its championship teams of the past.
“This team has been built in a similar mode to the the Bad Boy Pistons and then the Pistons of my era,” Carlisle said before Monday’s game. “(They’re built) on physicality, toughness, depth, they’re a mirror image of the personality of the city. Now they’ve got great coach with with J.B. and a great staff there. So, they’re making a pretty clear statement that they’re for real.”
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said earlier this season “what’s brewing in (Detroit’s) locker room is special,” and it’s hard to argue his point 13 games into the Pistons’ win streak.
This story will be updated.