BOSTON – A missed free throw by superstar guard Cade Cunningham cost the Detroit Pistons a chance at history, falling 117-114 against the Boston Celtics, ending their franchise-tying 13-game winning streak.
With 6.3 seconds left in the game, trailing 115-112, Cunningham drew a half-court shot foul and got sent to the line for three free throws to tie the game with 4.4 to play.
He made the first two and bricked on the last one as Boston’s Payton Pritchard got the defensive rebound and got fouled.
Pritchard made both free throws to push the deficit back to three before Jalen Duren turned the ball over, leading to a Jordan Walsh steal to lose 117-114.
Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, left, is fouled by Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson in the final seconds of the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
The Pistons almost surpassed all the great Detroit teams, including the “Bad Boys” and the “Going to Work” crew.
Despite the missed free throw, Cunningham scored 42 points, shooting 12-26 from the field and 4-9 from the three-point line.
At the charity stripe, Cunningham was 14-16 while grabbing eight rebounds, five assists, and four turnovers in the loss.
Celtics NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists as his Celtics improved to 10-8, 6-4 at home.
Despite the devastating loss, Detroit still has the best record in the Eastern Conference at 15-3, 7-2 on the road.
1st quarter
Pistons won the tap, but didn’t convert on their first possession. But they did get a foul on Jalen Brown, who turned the ball over on the other end.
Former Michigan Wolverines shooting guard Duncan Robinson got the party started with a wide-open three-pointer to take a 3-0 lead.
After getting beat for multiple offensive rebounds, superstar guard Cunningham grabbed the defensive rebound and found future NBA All-Star Jalen Duren for an easy dunk to take a 5-0 lead.
Brown knocked down the Celtics’ first two points after drawing the foul, hitting both free throws.
He got back to the line after baiting Robinson on a pump fake, making both to bring the deficit to 5-4.
Brown found Jordan Walsh, who helped take their first lead of the game with a contested three-pointer.
Defensive standout Ausar Thompson drew a foul and split the pair at the line as the Pistons trailed 7-6.
Cunningham got hammered and got sent to the line for two, making both to retake the lead.
Thompson pushed the ball up the floor and found Robinson in the corner for his second three-pointer of the game.
After some tremendous defence, Cunningham, while pushing the pace, found Duren running down the middle of the floor for an uncontested dunk, leading to the Celtics’ first timeout of the game.
The timeout lit a spark for the Celtics as Brown, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Amari Williams helped them get back into the game, but Ronald Holland II knocked down a three-pointer, and Isaiah Stewart and Cunningham helped Detroit take a 26-16 lead with 2:25 to play in the first quarter.
Following another timeout, Baylor Scheierman knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to single digits.
Trailing 26-19, Scheierman hit a floater before former Wolverines guard Caris LeVert put back his miss for his first bucket of the game.
Holland II drove to the paint and made a nasty bank shot to push the lead to 30-24 before the end of the quarter.
2nd quarter
The Pistons held a slim 58-57 lead over the Celtics at the end of the second quarter in a tightly contested game.
The quarter featured key plays from both teams, including Thompson’s 34-foot three-pointer assisted by Duren that helped the Pistons maintain their lead while beating the buzzer.
Scheierman responded for the Celtics with multiple three-pointers and jump shots, keeping the game close throughout the quarter.
Tobias Harris contributed with free throws and a pull-up jumper, while Cunningham and Duren were active on rebounds and scoring opportunities for Detroit.
Defensive plays were crucial, with Brown blocking a layup attempt by Duren and Thompson blocking a two-point shot by Brown.
Both teams made several substitutions, with players like Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, and Derrick White entering for the Celtics, and Jaden Ivey and Cunningham rotating for the Pistons.
The Celtics called a full timeout with 8:41 remaining after a coach’s challenge was overturned, and the Pistons used a full timeout later in the quarter as the teams battled for control.
The second quarter ended on a high note, with both teams showing strong offensive and defensive efforts.
3rd quarter
The Celtics held a slim 86-83 lead over the Pistons at the end of the third quarter.
White was a key contributor for the Celtics, making multiple free throws and a 30-foot three-pointer, while also grabbing rebounds.
The Pistons stayed close behind Cunningham’s scoring and defensive efforts, including blocks and key free throws.
Defensive plays were pivotal, with Robinson blocking a layup attempt by Walsh and Scheierman blocking a driving layup by Cunningham.
Both teams made several substitutions late in the quarter, with players like Ivey, Holland II, and Amari Williams entering the game.
The Celtics called a full timeout with 6:03 remaining in the quarter after a coach’s challenge was overturned.
The quarter featured multiple turnovers and missed shots, but Boston maintained a slight edge heading into the final period as White got bailed out by a last-second three-pointer, drawing a foul on LeVert with 0.03 remaining.
4th quarter
Cunning made a tough shot off the glass to retake the lead, but Brown came right back with a contested shot over him to take the lead.
White knocked down another three-pointer, pushing the Celtics’ lead to 105-101 with under three minutes to play.
The Pistons were reeling, but a hustle play by Robinson led to a defensive foul.
With the ball, Cunningham hit a contested fadeaway jumper to cut the deficit to two.
Duren was fouled while going up for a dunk, sending him to the line, where he knocked down both to tie the game.
Brown, carrying the team on his back, drove to the basket and made the layup while drawing the foul. He made the free throw to get the and-one.
Trailing by three, the Pistons missed wide-open three-pointers before Cunningham got fouled while grabbing the offensive rebound with 1:17 to play, going to the line and making both to cut the Celtics’ lead to one.
White hit another dagger three-pointer to go up four with 1:02 to play.
Harris got a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 111-110.
With the ball, Detroit searched for a bucket as Cunningham bricked a three-pointer before Thompson got the offensive rebound, before head coach J.B. Bickerstaff called a timeout with 17.9 to play.
The Pistons had nine seconds to get up a shot, but Cunningham turned the ball over with 12.8 to play.
Harris fouled with 9.9, sending White to the foul line.
White made both, giving the Celtics a 113-110 lead as Detroit called a full timeout.
With history on the line, trailing by three, Robinson inbounded the ball to Cunningham, who got fouled, losing point eight seconds on the game clock.
Cunningham made both free throws to cut the deficit to one, as Boston called a timeout with 9.1 to play.
Good defense by the Pistons on the inbounds play nearly led to a five-second violation.
After the timeout, Simons grabbed the nearly lost ball and got fouled by Cunningham.
He made both with 6.3 to play.
Cunningham drew a half-court shot foul and got sent to the line for three free throws to tie the game with 4.4 to play.
He made the first two and choked on the last one as Boston got the defensive rebound.
Pritchard made both free throws to push the deficit back to three before Duren turned the ball over to lose 117-114.
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