Desmond Bane drops career-high 49 points and extends Pistons’ losing streak to 18 defeats

Desmond Bane seemed determined to extend Detroit’s historic losing streak on his own, as he hit 32 of his career-high 49-point performance during the second half of the game. Memphis beat their rivals 116 to 102 this past Wednesday night. 

“They’ve been in a lot of these games, especially recently, and we knew they were going to be in attack mode,” shared Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins after the match. “They’ve got a lot of guys who can attack and they can hurt you on the boards.”

The Memphis forward shot 19 of 31 from the field, hit 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, and dropped in 7 free throws without a single miss. He completed his impressive stat line with 8 assists and 6 rebounds.

Desmond Bane COOKED all night and put up a new career high ‼️

49 PTS / 19-31 FGM / 4-8 3PM / 8 AST pic.twitter.com/zqM0hcPRIQ

— NBA (@NBA) December 7, 2023

“I’ve been trying to become a more complete player,” Bane said, as his previous scoring mark was 38 against the Nets on October 24, 2022. “Being able to play make and score from all areas of the court. That wins games.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. also contributed to the Memphis third victory in four matches, adding his own 24 points to the scoreboard. The Grizzlies have been enduring the start of the season without their main star Ja Morant, as he’s only two weeks away from serving his infamous 25-game suspension.

The young guard still holds the franchise record with 52 points, achieved on February 2022 when they beat the San Antonio Spurs. Just like Bane did this Wednesday, Morant had also scored 49 against Houston a bit over a year ago.

Even though the Pistons led the game by 8 points in the third quarter, Desmond was on fire and hit the next 7 points for his squad. The final quarter, Memphis started a 14-2 run to take the lead 96-86 in their favor, while Detroit went 1 for 8 with two turnovers.

“That was huge,” claimed coach Jenkins. “(Bane) was obviously carrying a big load for us offensively, and that (group) really set a tone for our defense. That allowed us to get out and run and really just play free.”

Detroit has now reached their worst single-season losing streak in franchise history, only behind a 21-game overall record

The Pistons‘ 18-straight loss has now become a 2-19 record this season, serving as the longest the franchise has ever suffered in a single tournament. However, it is still the second-longest overall as back in 1980 they fell in 21-consecutive games in between two campaigns.

“There’s the personal pride to guard the ball and not let a guy get to the basket,” shared Detroit coach Monty Williams. “I had to call a timeout, because we got the lead and Bane got to the basket three straight times. That’s not making baskets or scheme, that’s just the ability to get back in transition and guard.”

The Pistons’ current run is the longest since the Rockets’ 20-straight defeats that came in the 2020/21 NBA season. However, the Philadelphia 76ers still hold both historic records, as they register the single-season mark at 26-consecutive losses and 28 in total starting in the 2015/16 campaign, all the way into the following season.

While Bojan Bogdanovic hit 22 points for Detroit last night, Jalen Duren posted 17 points and 11 rebounds before suffering a new left leg injury with 1:58 to the final buzzer.

“It’s tough — I feel like he was just getting his groove back,” coach Williams said of his injured star, who has already missed seven contests this season.