DETROIT — After piling up 13 straight wins over the past month, the Detroit Pistons now face their first losing streak of the season.
Following the [end of their winning streak on Wednesday](https://www.mlive.com/pistons/2025/11/franchise-record-win-streak-comes-to-an-end-as-pistons-fall-to-celtics.html), the Pistons (15-4) dropped a second consecutive game for the first time this season as they fell to the Orlando Magic (12-8), 112-109, Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Cade Cunningham led the way with a 39-point triple-double for the Pistons, helping bring the team back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
But a surging Orlando offense accomplished the rare feat of outscoring the Pistons in the paint, 62-46, and came up with a critical offensive possession late to clinch the win.
The loss eliminates the Pistons from the NBA Cup after being in a win-and-in matchup against the Magic that decided who would top Group B.
Shooting wasn’t clean for either team early on, but the difference-maker for the Pistons was their energy.
Through the first six minutes of the game, the Pistons had five offensive rebounds — leading to nine second-chance points — three steals and a block.
A 16-3 run for Detroit shot the Eastern Conference leaders out to a 23-10 lead after being tied with the Magic.
Cunningham got off to another strong start as he scored 10 points in the first quarter and 18 by halftime.
However, it was the Magic finishing the quarter strong on a 17-6 run as they started showing their physicality in the paint. The outburst had them trailing by just two after 12 minutes.
Orlando kept their momentum going behind Desmond Bane, who finished with a team-high 37 points, shooting out in front by as much as five early in the second quarter as the Pistons struggled with turnovers.
Detroit began to clean up the turnovers and settled in for an improved shooting performance, making 47% of their baskets in the second quarter, once again led by Cunningham.
A Duncan Robinson three-pointer in the final minute of the half gave the Pistons their first lead in nearly 11 minutes before the Magic nabbed a 59-58 halftime lead with a clean off the glass from Jonathan Isaac.
Cunningham continued to drive the night offensively in the second half, keeping up his 50% (13-of-26) shooting performance from the field.
Physicality continued throughout the matchup, with Ausar Thompson getting called for a pair of fouls in quick succession, putting him on four for the night and limiting his impact.
It finally started to hit a breaking point late in the third quarter as Cunningham was assessed a technical after not getting a handful of calls he wanted on some contentious possessions.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff had to pull Cunningham back after continuing to argue with the officials after the foul was called. With a handful of extra free-throw opportunities, the Magic took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Magic got another hot start to a quarter, going up by double digits as Jalen Suggs went on a personal 5-0 run.
But the Pistons were ready to make their run as they locked down on defense and rode a Tobias Harris hook shot and back-to-back threes from Robinson and Cunningham to go out on a 10-0 run and tie the game at 100.
Both teams traded baskets with the Magic holding a one-point lead in the final minute.
But in one of the more uncharacteristic moments for the Pistons, they allowed the Magic four offensive rebounds on the final defensive possession until finally needing to foul.
Suggs sank his free throws and the Pistons failed to close the three-point deficit at the foul line — with Cunningham missing a pair — and Robinson having the buzzer-beater blocked.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Forl-vs-det-0022500072%2Fbox-score%23box-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** The Pistons have a quick turnaround, heading to face Duncan Robinson’s former team, the Miami Heat, Saturday night.