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Pistons break NBA-record playoff losing streak
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Pistons break NBA-record playoff losing streak

With a 100-94 victory over the New York Knicks, the Detroit Pistons accomplished something they haven't done in 16 years: won a playoff game. The Pistons had been winless in an NBA-record 15 playoff games.

Monday's first-round match gave the Pistons their first postseason victory since the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals, when Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton were still leading them, and Detroit's homegrown star, Cade Cunningham, was only 7 years old. 

This victory had been decades in the making. Detroit controlled Game 2 from the opening tip and built up a 15-point lead before New York stormed back. A scoring onslaught by Jalen Brunson, who finished with 37 points, brought the Knicks back into the game and left it tied with only a minute remaining. 

With the score tied at 94, Detroit turned to an unlikely hero, Dennis Schroder. The veteran point guard pulled up for a three-pointer and gave the Pistons a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

While Schroder was the most important player in the clutch for Detroit, Cade Cunningham was the best player on the floor. 

Detroit's All-Star guard finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds and five turnovers on 52% shooting in just his second career playoff game. While he finished with five turnovers, the fourth-year guard never seemed fazed and handled everything New York's feisty defense threw at him.

With Detroit's playoff winless streak snapped, the Pistons are now in the driver's seat of this first-round series and head back to Detroit tied up at one game apiece. 

If the Pistons have the poise and composure they showed in this game for the rest of the series, they could become a strong contender for the first underdog victor in the NBA playoffs. 

Rocky D'Antonio

Rocky D'Antonio is a freelance contributing writer. His interests include the NBA, MLB, the NFL, and especially Formula 1. He has experience writing opinion pieces and beat reporting and is based out of New York City.

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