BOSTON (AP) — Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons didn’t hide it. They really wanted to make franchise history.
Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and the Boston Celtics ended Detroit’s winning streak at a franchise record-tying 13, overcoming Cunningham’s 42 points as the Pistons fell 117-114 on Wednesday night.
“We all wanted it tonight,” Cunningham said a quiet locker room. “We all wanted 14 wins. I’m not going to act like it doesn’t mean anything to us. This is a big deal We all wanted to be on that side of history.”
Certainly, there’s much more they can try to match this season. It marked the third time that the franchise has reached 13 straight wins in club history. The other two times ended with those teams winning NBA titles in 1989-90 and 2003-04.
“Although we didn’t break that streak, you look back and see what those other two teams accomplished with those streaks at 13 in a row,” Detroit forward Isaiah Stewart said. “They won the championship with 13 in a row, and that’s our goal. We’re not going to get caught up in consecutive wins.”
“We can’t go back, and I can’t shoot that free throw again,” Cunningham said. “We can’t get up on (3-point shooters) again. The game’s over. It’s how we’re going to respond. There’s a lot of season left to go accomplish a lot of great things. That’s where our mind is at.”
Cunningham hit the first two, but missed the third. The smallest player on the court — Payton Pritchard — made the biggest play, grabbing the rebound for Boston. He was fouled and hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left.
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla credited Brown with a key box out that led to the rebound.
“I think he’s giving everything he’s got at both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said of Brown. “Obviously, he had a great night offensively, but those plays right there, just timely plays that we have to make, and he made that.”
The Pistons knew they could have been better at the end.
“Give them credit. They made tough shots at the right time,” Pistons forward Tobias Harris said. “We had a lot of chances to oppose our will on the defensive end. Too many times we backed off guys that are top-notch shooters and let it fly. We had too many mistakes. It’s just an attention to detail.”
Brown had 33 points and 10 rebounds, and White scored 11 of his 27 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes. The Celtics have won five of six.
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