They had just picked up perhaps their most significant win of the season, but the mood in the press conference room at Little Caesars Arena was somber afterward. 

The Detroit Pistons surpassed their 2023-24 season win total with Wednesday’s 105-96 home win over the Orlando Magic — their 15th victory of the season, surpassing their historically bad 14-68 mark from last season. But an injury to Jaden Ivey in the fourth quarter made for a bittersweet New Year’s. 

The third-year guard was carried off the floor on a stretcher after suffering an injury to his left leg. The severity wasn’t immediately known after the game, but it appears to be a significant injury based on Ivey’s immediate reaction and the emotion shown by players from both teams. 

Ausar Thompson appeared to be teary-eyed on the bench and Magic guard Cole Anthony, who dove for a loose ball and collided with Ivey, was also in tears while standing next to Ivey as trainers examined his leg. 

“It’s tough on the whole group,” Pistons guard Cade Cunningham said after the game. “To see him hurting like that is tough on us. He’s built for it, he’s going to shake back knowing him. He’s going to work his tail off and he’s going to be better than ever when he gets back. It’s hard to see that, for sure.”

With 10:07 remaining in the final period, Anthony dove into Ivey’s legs while trying to rebound a loose ball. Ivey was knocked off his feet and immediately grabbed his lower left leg while hunched over in pain on the ground. Players and personnel from both teams surrounded him, and Tim Hardaway Jr. motioned for the Pistons’ medical team to bring the stretcher out. Fans eventually chanted Ivey’s name.

Ivey was in the midst of one of his best games of the season and finished with a team-high 22 points. He knocked down five of his six 3-point attempts and shot 8-for-11 overall. It has been a career-year for the third-year guard, who’s second on the team averaging 17.6 points and has knocked down 40.9% of his 3-pointers. 

After he exited the game, the Pistons circled for a quick prayer before returning to play. 

“We said a prayer for him, and just wanted to collect ourselves and talk about it and make sure everybody was on the same page about what we had to do from that point on,” Cunningham said. “We already had a lot of attention with this game. Jan. 1, 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 about what the mission was.” 

It was an emotional — and sloppy — win for the Pistons, who led the Magic by as many as 18 points before collapsing late. Orlando (20-15) used a 20-7 run to cut it to five at the end of the third and narrowed the deficit to 89-86 with 7:51 remaining. The Pistons turned the ball over 23 times, committing seven each in the second and third periods and five in the fourth. 

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth to help the Pistons hang on, and Tobias Harris hit two buckets in the final five minutes to push the lead back to 11. 

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They survived without Ivey and have now won four of their past five games. 

“They care about each other, and they care about JI and what this means to him and the sacrifices that he’s made within his game, within himself to help this team and each other’s individual growth,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They banded together because they know that’s what he would’ve wanted him to do.

“At the heart of this team and what we’ve tried to preach all year since we’ve been here is the togetherness. If one guy goes down, you don’t want to let that guy down. So everybody else has to step up. It’s the emotions, it’s the human aspect of it. But I thought our guys did a really good job of just sticking together and getting it done.”

Who replaces Jaden Ivey for Pistons

If Ivey misses extended time, it’ll pose several challenges to the roster. Bickerstaff has staggered Cunningham and Ivey this season, leaving at least one on the floor at nearly all times. Ivey is the team’s secondary initiator on offense and point guard when Cunningham sits.

If Ivey is out, it’ll leave second-year guard Marcus Sasser as the team’s lone backup to Cunningham. 

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But the emotional toll that Ivey’s injury brought goes beyond the floor. He has been one of the franchise’s key players since he was drafted fifth overall in 2022. Coaches and teammates have lauded his work ethic. He’s often the last player to leave the gym after the team’s morning shootarounds. 

Since joining the franchise, Ivey has been viewed as a potential long-term backcourt solution next to Cunningham. He’d finally begun putting it together after two uneven seasons, taking a big step forward this season as an outside shooter. He and Cunningham’s growth is a big factor in the team’s 15-18 start to the season, putting them in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race in ninth place. 

The team now will anxiously wait for an update on Ivey’s injury ahead of Friday’s home game against the lowly Charlotte Hornets (7-25).

“It’s tough on all of us,” Bickerstaff said. “No better teammate, person than JI. No one who cares more about this thing than him. It’s tough to see.”

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Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.