Kelly Olynyk logged 27 points, six assists and four steals and the short-handed Utah Jazz put the host Detroit Pistons on the brink of matching the NBA’s longest single-season losing streak with a 119-111 victory on Thursday night.
The Pistons have lost 25 straight, one shy of the NBA single-season record. The 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers dropped 26 in a row.
The all-time longest losing streak in league history is a 28-game skid by the 76ers spread between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Collin Sexton supplied 19 points, eight assists and four steals for the Jazz, who lost at Cleveland on Wednesday while the Pistons were idle. Ochai Agbaji contributed 18 points off the Utah bench.
Simone Fontechhio added 16 points, Kris Dunn had 13 points and 10 assists and John Collins amassed 13 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz. Utah’s top two scorers, Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson, sat out due to hamstring injuries.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds but also committed six turnovers. Jaden Ivey added 24 points and seven assists, and Marvin Bagley III had 22 points.
Utah scored 27 points off 21 Pistons turnovers.
Agbaji had 14 first-half points as Utah led 64-58 at halftime. Cunningham topped the Pistons with 15 points in the opening two quarters.
Half of Agbaji’s points prior to the break came during an 11-0 Jazz run to start the second quarter, a sequence that gave the visitors a 13-point advantage.
Utah held a slim lead for much of the third quarter. Fontecchio made two 3-pointers in a 30-second span to give the Jazz a 78-72 lead. Detroit’s Alec Burks tied it at 84-apiece on a jumper.
After Utah nudged its lead to five late in the quarter, Burks hit three free throws to cut the Pistons’ deficit to 90-88 entering the fourth.
A 6-0 spurt that was capped by a Dunn basket in the lane gave Utah a 96-90 lead early in the final period. Dunn hit a pair of free throws with 7:40 left to make it 100-93.
Bojan Bogdanovic drained a 3-pointer with 4:40 to go, bringing Detroit within 104-100. A Collins dunk off an Ivey turnover gave Utah a 110-104 advantage with 3:10 remaining.
Olynyk made a 3-pointer after a Dunn offensive rebound to push the lead to seven with 2:23 left. A Sexton tap-in stretched it to nine less than a minute later.
–Field Level Media