AP
The Pistons keep rolling, and Jaden Ivey picked a pretty good night to rejoin the party.
Detroit pushed its winning streak to 12, matching the third-longest run in franchise history, with a 129-116 road win over the Bucks on Saturday.
And they did it with Ivey finally back in uniform after more than 10 months and two surgeries.
Ivey came off the bench and gave Detroit exactly what it needed. He scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in just 15 minutes, adding a couple assists and a steal.
More than anything, he just looked like himself again.
“Just cherished the moment,” Ivey told reporters, via ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “Going into it, I was trying to get my mind wrapped around it because it’s been so long. … So much gratitude to be out there again.”
Ivey hasn’t played a regular-season game since breaking his left fibula on New Year’s Day.
A preseason appearance ended with renewed knee discomfort, which led to another procedure in mid-October.
But on Saturday, he looked comfortable — at least according to Cade Cunningham.
“It’s like seeing him in his natural state,” Cunningham said. “And he looked good today. Doesn’t look like he’s missed as much time as he has. Credit to his work.”
The Pistons couldn’t have timed Ivey’s return any better. Saturday’s win snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Bucks and pushed Detroit to 14-2, the best record in the East.
For comparison: two years ago, the Pistons finished with the worst record in the league at 14-68.
Cunningham made sure the locker room understood the significance of beating Milwaukee.
“I don’t think any franchise should have that over ours,” he said. “We take playing for the Pistons seriously.”
Jalen Duren echoed that sentiment, and then some.
“The biggest thing is we’re still hungry,” he said. “We still feel like we’ve got a lot to prove.”
And right now? They’re proving it every night.
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