Pistons’ Cade Cunningham, J.B. Bickerstaff Differ on Ending Historic Playoff Streak

Cade Cunningham helped end the Detroit Pistons’ record-setting playoff losing streak, and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff doesn’t want his team to stop there.

Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket against OG Anunoby #8 of the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round NBA Playoffs in New York City on April 21, 2025. Al Bello/Getty Images

Detroit Pistons star guard Cade Cunningham rather relished his team ending a dubious playoff losing streak as head coach J.B. Bickerstaff works to keep his team focused.

Cunningham scored 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a Game 2 win over the New York Knicks, 100–94, at Madison Square Garden. That ended the Pistons’ NBA-record 15-game playoff losing streak, which dated back to Game 4 in the 2008 Eastern Conference finals.

“It’s a great feeling,” Pistons star guard Cade Cunningham told reporters afterward. “It feels good to represent the city like we did tonight.”

“It’s something that the city’s been waiting on for a long time, so we feel good about it and we’re ready to get back to the crib and perform in front of them,” he added.

Piston head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who has coached two decades in the NBA, doesn’t want his team getting too excited. In his first year, Bickerstaff led the Pistons to a winning record for the first time in eight years and a playoff appearance for the first time in six years.

“We got bigger things we’re out here for,” Bickerstaff told reporters. “So our focus, and that’s why our guys have been able to grow and be consistent because they just think about the now and I thought they did a great job tonight of staying in the moment and doing what we needed to do.”

Detroit fell behind in the series originally with a 123–112 loss on April 19 when Cunningham had 21 points and 12 assists. The Pistons had a 91–83 lead going into the fourth quarter of that game but the Knicks turned it on 21-0 run to win the game.

“At the end of the day, I trust our system, I trust the guys,” Cunningham said. “We knew that we dropped (Game 1), so it was just about coming out (Monday), being aggressive and trying to out-dog them.”

Detroit had a lead again, 75–67, going into the fourth quarter for Game 2 but the Pistons didn’t let the Knicks get the lead this time around. Pistons guard Denis Schroder buried a three-pointer and center Jalen Duren hit a pair of free throws in the final minute for their team to hold on.

“We found a way to maintain our poise and collect ourselves in a really similar situation,” Cunningham said. “We responded really well. I thought it was a great opportunity for us to respond and have a better outcome.”

Detroit, which has only three players over 30 on the roster, has a young squad, and many of the players haven’t competed in the postseason. The Pistons were mired in their fourth-straight season of 23 or fewer wins before this season’s team broke through and went 44–38 in the regular season, and Bickerstaff is well aware of his team’s need for adjusting to playoff basketball.

“You know, it’s different but you kind of have to experience it,” Bickerstaff said. “We showed guys film, had a conversation and all those things but I always make this analogy: I tell my kids stuff all the time, and they look at me like I’m crazy, and do the dumb stuff that I told them not to do, and then they realize, ‘Oh [expletive], that was dumb.’ We have the conversation and talk about it, but it is one of those things that [you] just have to experience.”

The Pistons selected Cunningham with the No. 1 pick in 2021 draft to get back to playoff basketball. Cunningham has been a consistent performer since coming out of Oklahoma State but he took his game to a new level this season as an All-Star.

Detroit will play a postseason home game for the first time since 2019, and the Pistons have a 1–1 series tie with the Knicks to go with it. Ironically, New York had the previous longest playoff losing streak at 13 games between 2001 and 2012.