The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers 133-121 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday night to close the regular season at 60-22, completing the most dramatic two-year turnaround in NBA history. [1] No team has ever lost 60 games and then won 60 games in the span of two seasons. The Pistons, who went 14-68 in 2023-24 for the worst record in franchise history, are now the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

As yesterday's paper noted, Detroit entered the finale at 59-22, needing one more win to join the franchise's most exclusive club. They got it with room to spare, leading by as many as 27 points and shooting 56.2 percent from the floor.

This is only the third 60-win season in Pistons history. The 1988-89 "Bad Boys" went 63-19 and won the franchise's first championship. The 2005-06 "Goin' to Work" team won 64 games before falling to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. [2] Now these Pistons, built on defense and depth under second-year coach J.B. Bickerstaff, have written themselves into that company.

Paul Reed delivered the signature performance of the evening. Starting in place of Jalen Duren, who sat out with knee injury management, Reed scored a game-high 26 points on a perfect 11-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. [1] It was the most points a Pistons player has ever scored on a perfect shooting night, surpassing the 24 Tony Snell scored in 2019. It was the most any NBA player has scored on a perfect night since Nikola Jokic put up 26 in 2023.

Reed set the tone immediately, scoring 10 of Detroit's first 17 points. By halftime, the Pistons led 81-63 — their second-highest-scoring first half in franchise history — with Reed at 18 points and Tobias Harris at 19 on his way to 24. [1]

Cade Cunningham, making his third appearance since returning from a collapsed lung that cost him 11 games, played just 21 minutes but nearly recorded a triple-double. He finished with seven points, eight rebounds, and 14 assists on 3-of-12 shooting. [2] The shooting will not concern anyone in Detroit. What matters is that their All-Star point guard is orchestrating possessions at full speed. His 14 assists in limited duty confirmed what the coaching staff already knew: Cunningham changes the geometry of everything Detroit does on offense.

The Pistons' depth was on full display. All 15 players scored. Kevin Huerter added 15 points off the bench. Isaiah Stewart contributed 16. Marcus Sasser hit the three-pointer that sealed the game after Indiana cut the deficit to six with 2:21 remaining. [1] The Detroit bench outscored Indiana's reserves 60-45.

"It's a sign of the work that has been done by everyone who is a part of this," Bickerstaff said. "The front office. The coaching staff. The players. The medical staff. Everyone who has touched these guys to help them with that consistency and effort. It's a group thing. Everyone who is a part of this should be celebrated for it, but our work is not done." [1]

The scope of what Detroit has accomplished requires context. Two years ago, the Pistons were a punchline. They lost their first 11 games of the 2023-24 season, set the franchise record for consecutive losses at 28, and finished with a record so abysmal that optimistic projections put their rebuild on a five-year timeline. Owner Tom Gores described hitting bottom as the moment that "fueled the revival," telling Sports Illustrated that the organization used the pain of 14-68 as a foundation rather than an excuse. [3]

General manager Trajan Langdon retained the core of Cunningham, Duren, and Ausar Thompson, then surrounded them with veterans who knew how to win. Tobias Harris brought playoff experience. Duncan Robinson, who played in two NBA Finals with Miami, has been a steadying locker-room presence. Bickerstaff, inheriting a roster that had forgotten what winning looked like, installed a defense-first identity that resonated immediately.

The numbers bear it out. Detroit finished the regular season ranked second in defensive rating, eighth in offensive rating, and third in net rating. [4] They led the league in steals and blocks. They posted the franchise's best record since the 2007-08 team went 59-23, and then surpassed it by a game.

Historically, teams that win 60 games are built for the postseason. Since the NBA moved to an 82-game schedule in 1967-68, 36 of 78 teams to reach 60 wins have advanced to the Finals. [2] Only two 60-win teams have ever lost a first-round series in seven games — the 2007 Dallas Mavericks and the 2011 San Antonio Spurs.

For Indiana, the loss sealed the worst season in Pacers franchise history at 19-63. Obi Toppin led the Pacers with 21 points. Quenton Jackson matched that total and added eight assists. [1]

The Pistons now await the conclusion of the Play-In Tournament to learn their first-round opponent. The Orlando Magic, seeded eighth, will face the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, while the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets compete on the other side of the bracket. Detroit's first playoff game is scheduled for Sunday, April 18, at Little Caesars Arena.

"It's been a great regular season," Cunningham said. "Now it's playoff time." [2]

That line, from a 24-year-old point guard who was playing on a team that lost 68 games two springs ago, tells the whole story. The regular season was historic. The franchise knows it. The city knows it. But Detroit has been here before — 60 wins, No. 1 seed, the whole building shaking — and the Pistons are treating this milestone as prologue, not climax.

The playoffs begin in five days. Detroit's work, as Bickerstaff keeps reminding everyone, is not done.

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Detroit