Pistons blow out Celtics to earn eighth straight win, giving them their longest streak in 17 years

A little more than a year ago, we were monitoring the Detroit Pistons as they attempted to avoid the longest losing streak in NBA history. That streak ultimately extended to an unfathomable 28 games, the longest single-season streak the league has ever seen and tied for the longest overall, as the Philadelphia 76ers matched it across two years. That streak was such a low point that the Pistons fired coach Monty Williams only one year into a six-year, $78.5 million contract.

What a difference a year can make. 

The Pistons entered Wednesday in search of a milestone streak, but this time, it was for winning, not losing. And with their emphatic 117-97 victory over the defending champion Boston Celtics, the Pistons earned their eighth straight victory. That makes this the longest winning streak for the Pistons in 17 years, matching a streak that took place in January and February of 2008.

Not a single Pistons player from that streak is still active in the NBA, and no Pistons player on the current team was active back then. It came so long ago that the core of their 2004 championship team of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace were still in place. That Pistons team made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals.

This one still has a ways to go before it reaches those heights, but at this point, they can no longer be treated as just an up-and-coming group of youngsters, either. Detroit is now 24-11 in its last 35 games, a better record than the No. 3-seed New York Knicks in that span. 

Cade Cunningham is well on his way to an All-NBA selection, and J.B. Bickerstaff, fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers last spring, has a real chance at winning Coach of the Year.

The question now becomes how long the streak can last. And if Detroit can just survive a visit from the Nuggets on Friday, there’s plenty of room for it to grow. 

Their next two games after that come against the Nets and Jazz, which should be fairly winnable. That Jazz game kicks off a West Coast road trip against solid but not overwhelming opponents: the Clippers, Warriors and Trail Blazers. They follow that trip with two games against the Wizards, so don’t expect Detroit to cool off any time soon. 

The longest winning streak in franchise history is 13 games, and breaking it would go a long way toward erasing last season’s 28-loss debacle.