It’s been almost a month since the Detroit Pistons looked up at the scoreboard at the end of a game and saw a loss.
The Pistons rattled off 13 straight wins to tie the franchise record for consecutive victories, but that came to an end Wednesday night in Boston as the Celtics handed Detroit a 117-114 defeat at TD Garden as part of NBA Cup group play.
Cade Cunningham posted a game-high 42 points on 46% shooting, but it wasn’t enough to push the Pistons (15-3) to what would’ve been a standalone franchise-record 14th straight win.
The Celtics (10-8) shot 47% (20-of-43) from three and got a 33-point night out of Jaylen Brown to be the first team to knock off the Pistons since Oct. 27.
Early offense wasn’t hard to find as Duncan Robinson hits a pair of early three-pointers and Cunningham got off to a somewhat uncharacteristic hot start with 11 points and two assists in the first quarter.
Cunningham’s been thriving more in the second-half, entering the game as the NBA’s top fourth-quarter scorer, but he was feeling it early driving in the paint and from beyond the arc.
It wasn’t all easy going as Jaden Ivey — in his third game since returning from injury — struggled to connect from deep. Ivey lined up a trio of open three-pointers and missed them all in the first half.
The Pistons also held star guard Jaylen Brown to 1-of-8 shooting in the opening quarter, however he still scored seven points, primarily getting to the foul line.
Detroit led by six points after the opening quarter, but the Celtics quickly erased the advantage with a 9-0 run in the second quarter.
There were six lead changes in the second quarter as the teams went back-and-forth in the period. The Pistons looked the more unpolished of the two with five turnovers and 38% shooting from the field in the quarter.
But with Cunningham posted 17 points in the first half, center Jalen Duren adding nine and 13 rebounds, and a buzzer-beating deep three-point shot from Ausar Thompson saw the Pistons hold a 58-57 lead at the half.
Once again, the Celtics had a response to open the quarter as Derrick White and Payton Pritchard each sank threes and boosted Boston out on a 10-3 run and a six-point lead. White would hit 6-of-8 threes he took in the second half.
Enter Cunningham with another major quarter as he scored 13 of Detroit’s 25 points in the third. The Pistons would need every one of those points as the Celtics continued their rapid three-point shooting and took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The final period brought out more from the Pistons outside of Cunningham as Isaiah Stewart found success in the paint and Detroit worked the ball around for a Caris LeVert three-pointer to get out in front.
White continued to show up with timely makes as he reached 27 points for the night, but Cunningham also came with physical finishes at the rim and mid-range jumpers to keep the game tight.
The final White three-pointer in the closing 70 seconds set Boston ahead for the night. Cunningham had the ball knocked away by White on a late offensive possession and the Celtics got in the driver’s seat to start a duel of free throws.
The Pistons got one final chance as Cunningham managed to draw a late foul while shooting from near-half court to get three shots at the line.
He sank the first two, but missed the potential game-tying shot to end Detroit’s magical winning streak.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://www.nba.com/game/det-vs-bos-0022500060/box-score#box-score)
**Up next:** The Pistons return home on Friday to face the Orlando Magic in another NBA Cup matchup. With the Magic sitting 3-0 in group play, the matchup will decide who wins Group B.