• The Detroit Pistons beat the San Antonio Spurs 122-96, securing their 41st win of the season and guaranteeing a .500 record.
• With nine games remaining, the Pistons can achieve their best record in 17 years.

Fans began leaving Little Caesars Arena with more than six minutes remaining in the game. The reason? Entirely good. 

The Detroit Pistons picked up an important win in convincing fashion, dispatching the San Antonio Spurs at LCA, 122-96. They led by 26 at halftime and the Spurs never got within more than 15 points the rest of the way. 

With 6:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 21, 100-79. Reaching the 100-point threshold triggered something in the crowd, and a handful of families decided to beat traffic. The mostly-arena full was half-empty by the time the Pistons secured their 41st victory of the season. 

Echoing the team’s heyday at The Palace of Auburn Hills, there was little doubt from the crowd that they would finish the job against a depleted Spurs team — even without Cade Cunningham, who missed his second-straight game with a left calf contusion. 

THE GAME: Detroit Pistons crush San Antonio Spurs without Cade Cunningham, clinch .500 record

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With nine games remaining, we can officially say that the Pistons’ losing ways are in the past. They’re guaranteed to finish with at least a .500 record, which they haven’t done since going 41-41 overall in 2018-19. With another win, they’ll clinch their first winning record since they went 44-38 in 2015-16. 

J.B. Bickerstaff downplayed the significance of the accomplishment after the game. But as distant as last year’s 14-win finish feels now, the worst record in franchise history has taken on new meaning as a fascinating starting point. 

They may triple their win total. They’ve inspired confidence within the fanbase. They’re postseason-bound, and they’re a handful of wins away from being the best Pistons team in a decade. It matters, even if the players and coaching staff can’t afford to stop and take in the moment right now. 

“Not to be dismissive, but I don’t think so,” Bickerstaff said, when asked if players took pride in reaching .500 after the game. “They’re so locked into what we’re trying to do big-picture that this is something we’ll talk about at another time. Right now they’re only focused on the moment that’s in front of them, and I think that’s been part of the reason why they’ve been able to grow and develop, because they just take the challenge that’s in front of them. 

“They don’t look down the road, or at those big picture things. I think their focus has been being dialed in to whatever challenge that’s in front of them and then how we prepare for these nine games.”

With 27 wins added onto last year’s total, the Pistons are in the midst of one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in NBA history. They’ve tied the 2009-10 Thunder, who leapt from 23 to 50 wins after drafting James Harden to a core that already included Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. 

They won’t catch the 2007-08 Boston Celtics, who set the all-time record by adding 42 wins after trading for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen (they won 66 games and won the championship). But with nine games remaining, they technically could tie the 1997-98 Spurs and 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers, who both added 36 wins after drafting Tim Duncan and trading for Shaquille O’Neal, respectively. 

If the Pistons win four of their last nine and reach 45 wins, it’ll be their best record since 2007-08 — 17 years ago, which is also the last time they won a playoff game. 

Tobias Harris was the Pistons’ big offseason acquisition. He’s not a Hall-of-Fame addition like Duncan or O’Neal, but his veteran leadership has been transformational for a roster stacked with young talent and desperate for experience. 

Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr., too, have brought a daily stability that players say has helped them approach the season on a game-by-game basis.

“I’d say our vets. Tim, Tobias, Beas, they know what it takes to get there in the playoffs and advance,” Marcus Sasser said Tuesday. “Just them staying in our ear, having us lock in every day in practice and the game. That’s keeping us locked in for every single game every night.” 

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Beyond the 41-win milestone, Tuesday’s game was also a showcase for what’s allowed this team to take a significant step forward. The Pistons held the Spurs (who were without Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox) to 2-for-19 shooting (10.5%) in the second quarter, outscoring them by 18 points in the stretch to put their defensive stamp on the game early. 

Six players reached double-figures as they shot 56.4% as a team, their third-highest percentage this season. They extended their streak of not being outscored in the paint to 29 games, the longest in franchise history and third-longest of the play-by-play era. And they outscored the Spurs 19-5 in points off of turnovers, showcasing one of the league’s best transition offenses.

The Pistons are legitimate. The numbers back the success they’ve had. And once the season is over and the postseason is behind them, they’ll be able to put into perspective how quickly the franchise’s fortunes have changed. For now, they’re staying in the moment.

“It was purposeful,” Bickerstaff said of the team’s performance Tuesday night. “This has been the conversation that we’ve been having about our habits and how important those habits are and that no matter what we do, no matter what the results, we play to our standard. I thought tonight, the guys paid attention to detail and they were locked in their execution. The effort was great.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.

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Next up: Cavaliers

Matchup: Pistons (41-32) vs. Cleveland (57-14 entering Tuesday).

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Friday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.

TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra; WWJ-AM (950).