ORLANDO, Fla. — Franz Wagner scored 27 points, Paolo Banchero added 24 and the Orlando Magic handed the Detroit Pistons their 19th straight loss, 123-91, on Friday night.
Detroit is 2-20, with the losing streak the longest in one season in franchise history and second-longest overall behind a 21-game slide at the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81.
“We lost back-to-back games and it didn’t feel good, so coming into this game we knew we had to take them seriously,” said Magic center Goga Bitadze, who had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks. “I think we did a good job of that tonight and we got the win.”
The streak is the longest in the NBA since Houston lost 20 straight in 2020-21. The Philadelphia 76ers hold both NBA records, setting the single-season mark at 26 in a row in 2013-14 and the overall mark at 28 at the end of 2014-15 and start of 2015-16.
The Pistons are the first team to lose 20 of their first 22 games of a season since those 2015-16 76ers. Detroit is also the fifth team since 2000 to lose 20 of its first 22 games in a season with a point differential per game of minus-10.0 or worse, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 21 points, and Killian Hayes had 16 points and seven rebounds.
After making eight of their first 12 shots, the Pistons shot 26-for-69 (37.7%) for the rest of the game, failing to score 100 points for the first time this season.
“They’re a good defensive team but we missed a lot of open shots,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “They take away the paint, force you to play outside. We generated only 30 3s and just didn’t hit a good percentage (6 of 30). We just had a hard time putting the ball in the basket tonight.”
Cole Anthony added 16 points and six assists for the Magic. They shot 55.1% in winning for the 10th time in 12 games.
The Magic had a 14-0 run to take a 28-21 lead late in the first quarter. Gary Harris, starting for the injured Jalen Suggs, started the run with a steal and layup, and Joe Ingles finished it with a 3-pointer.
“I think that’s what makes us a good team, that if somebody’s out, the other guys can step up,” Wagner said. “Everybody stepped up and helped fill that void because Jalen is a big part of what we’re doing. I thought Goga played with great energy and we need that.”
Bitadze made 6 of 7 shots and had a plus-minus of plus-26.
Wagner scored his first six points in a 10-0 spurt midway through the second quarter to help push Orlando’s lead to 15. Detroit never got the margin under 13 in the second half.
With the Pistons losing their 19th straight game, and the San Antonio Spurs their franchise-record-tying 16th in a row, this marks the third season in NBA history to feature multiple teams on losing streaks of 16-plus games at the same time. The other instances were the San Diego Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers in April 1982, and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Washington Wizards in March 2010.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.