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Detroit Pistons shooting guard Jaden Ivey was stretchered off the court after a horrific leg injury during the 105-96 victory over the Orlando Magic. The winning effort had a deflating feeling after Ivey was undercut during a loose ball scramble in the fourth quarter. Point guard Cade Cunningham spoke on the team's reaction and how they rallied for him to close the game.
“There's emotions with it where we hate to see our brother go down like that. At the same time, we want to go win the game for him,” Cunningham explained. “It's easy to lock back in and say ‘We're going to go get this done for him'. Orlando is a good team. They made a couple pushes at us, they got back in the game a few times, but we just stuck it out.”
Ivey screamed in pain instantly after the accidental collision with Magic guard Cole Anthony. Both teams huddled around Ivey as the medical staff gathered him on a stretcher. Fans at Little Caesars Arena chanted his last name in support through the emotional moment. Cunningham offered further explanation on the immediate response when the team gathered during the timeout.
“We said a prayer for him and just wanted to collect ourselves and talk about it, make sure everyone was on the same page about what we had to go do from that point on and know who we were doing it for,” Cunningham stated. “We already had a lot of attention on this game, January 1st, we wanted to start the year off right. Seeing that happen, that was tough on us, and we wanted to make sure everybody was on the same page.”
The third-year guard was having a productive night, leading all Pistons scorers with 22 points on 8-11 shooting from the field and 5-6 from 3-point-range. Ivey was putting up career-high scoring numbers coming into the contest at 17.4 points on 45.3 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from 3. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff did not offer an update or timeline regarding the injury after the game.
Pistons surpass last season's win total
Detroit checked off a significant accomplishment of development by already surpassing last season's win total of 14. Their Wednesday night victory over the Magic pushed their team record forward to 15-18. Last season's 14th victory was not reached until April 2024 against the Dallas Mavericks.
All Pistons starters finished the night scoring in double figures. Cunningham flirted with another triple-double, recording 19 points with nine assists and eight rebounds. Center Jalen Duren was impressive with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Veteran Tobias Harris had a much-needed bounce-back performance with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Pistons.
That 14-68 record from last season was the lowest in franchise history for Detroit. Those hardships of last season were highlighted by an NBA record 28-game losing streak. Cunningham spoke on what that improvement means for this franchise during the postgame press conference.
“It’s crazy. 2024 was a crazy year, but I'm thankful for where we’re at right now. All of those tough times last year built us and prepared us for this year,” Cunningham said. “There’s a lot of season left, but I'm not putting any ceiling on what this year could be. Just need to take one game at a time, stick together, and keep going as a team.”
The Pistons next play the Charlotte Hornets at home on January 3rd.
