The Detroit Pistons narrowly avoided unwanted history as they ended their 28-match losing streak with victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Cade Cunningham scored 30 points and made 12 assists as the Pistons edged a 129-127 win – their first in the NBA since 28 October.
Their 28th defeat had equalled the longest losing run in NBA history.
A loss to the Raptors would have matched the longest losing streak in major US professional sports history.
That record is held by NFL team the Chicago Cardinals – now the Arizona Cardinals – who fell to 29 successive losses between 1942 and 1945.
Elsewhere, it was not a happy birthday for LeBron James, whose Los Angeles Lakers lost 108-106 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James, who turned 39, scored 26 points, with the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards scoring 31 points in 38 minutes for the hosts.
In Indianapolis, Tyrese Haliburton became the first player in 33 years to score at least 20 points and 20 assists in consecutive games as he led the Indiana Pacers to a 140-126 win over the New York Knicks.
With his 22 points and 23 assists, he joined Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and John Stockton as only the third player in NBA history to achieve the feat.
