CLEVELAND (AP) - Forget the NBA record, the Cavaliers are officially as bad as any team in any pro sport.
Cleveland's losing streak reached 26, matching the 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' record for consecutive incompetence on Wednesday night with a 103-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons, who were supposedly a beatable opponent for the bottom-dwelling Cavs.
Instead, Cleveland's season slipped further into shame.
The Cavs (8-45) remain winless since Dec. 18 and have now dropped 36 of 37. Their next chance to end the unimaginable slide will be on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. After that comes a home game against the road-winless Washington Wizards on Sunday.
Rodney Stuckey scored 22 to pace the Pistons, who didn't want to be remembered as the team that let the Cavs get off the mat.
The Cavs and their fans had hoped this was the night the streak stopped.
Cleveland had played well in its previous four games, losing by a combined 21 points and actually came into the matchup favored to beat Detroit, which was playing its second straight after hosting the league-leading San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
But the Cavs fell into a 12-point hole at half, and although they pulled within three in the third, they fell apart early in the fourth. Only some late buckets in garbage time made the score respectable.
Nets 103, Hornets 101, OT
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Brook Lopez hit two go-ahead free throws with 24.3 seconds to play in overtime and New Jersey snapped a three-game losing streak and extended New Orleans' slide to four.
Sasha Vujacic scored a career-high 25 for the Nets.
The Hornets had three chances to either tie or win the game in the closing seconds but Chris Paul turned the ball over with 19 seconds left and Willie Green missed a jumper with about 5 seconds to go.
Kris Humphries got the rebound after the Green miss and was fouled but he missed two free throws, giving New Orleans one final chance, and it went to Paul.
His 3-pointer at the buzzer went halfway down and came out, allowing New Jersey a chance to celebrate.
Lopez finished with 20, Humphries had 14 points and 15 rebounds and the Nets hit a season-high 12 3-pointers.
David West led the Hornets with 32 points and 15 rebounds.
Wizards 100, Bucks 85
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nick Young scored a flashy 26 points, JaVale McGee had 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Washington broke an eight-game losing streak.
Young had a flying one-handed baseline dunk in the first half and scored 11 points in the 16-4 run that gave the Wizards a 20-point lead early in the third quarter. Among the highlights: Young picked off a pass, tossed the ball to John Wall, then received an alley-opp pass back from the rookie to finish off the fast break with another one-handed jam.
Brandon Jennings scored 20 points to lead the Bucks, who have lost five of six and fell 2 1/2 games behind the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Clippers 116, Knicks 108
NEW YORK (AP) - Randy Foye scored 17 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, Blake Griffin added 21 and Los Angeles snapped a seven-game road losing streak.
Baron Davis had 16 points and a season-high 16 assists for the Clippers, who had dropped four straight overall, including the first three on their eight-game, 14-day trip. But a night after a 101-85 loss in Orlando, they had far more energy than the Knicks, building a 20-point lead in the third quarter and holding on down the stretch behind huge plays from Foye.
Ryan Gomes scored 18 points, DeAndre Jordan 17 and Eric Bledsoe 16 for the Clippers, who didn't even need Griffin to be spectacular.
Held to a season-low 10 points Tuesday in Orlando, he grabbed only six rebounds, ending his latest double-double streak at 10 games.
Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points for the Knicks.
Spurs 111, Raptors 100
TORONTO (AP) - DeJuan Blair matched a career high by scoring 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, George Hill had 18 points and San Antonio won its fourth straight game,.
Tony Parker and Tim Duncan each had 16 points and Manu Ginobili 12 as San Antonio won for the 15th time in 17 games.
Blair also had 11 rebounds for the Spurs, whose 44-8 record is the best in the NBA. His previous best was 22 points, set in a Jan. 19 home win over Toronto. He also scored 28 against Oklahoma City on Jan. 13, 2010.
Andrea Bargnani scored 29 points and DeMar DeRozan had 25 for the Raptors, who have lost 15 of 16.
Magic 99, 76ers 95
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Dwight Howard had 30 points and 17 rebounds, J.J. Redick came off the bench to score 13 points and Orlando won in Philadelphia for the fifth straight time.
The Magic have won 14 of last 16 against the Sixers.
Lou Williams got 18 of his 23 in the fourth quarter, nearly rallying the Sixers to a comeback win himself. Andre Iguodala scored 21 and Jodie Meeks had 17 for the Sixers.
The Magic have won two in a row after losing three of four. They're tied with Atlanta for fourth place in the East, 5 1/2 games behind conference-leading Boston.