Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy is thrilled with his last-place Pistons putting up two of their best performances of the season since cutting an underachieving Josh Smith.
The Orlando Magic are likely feeling the same way during their own strong stretch.
The Pistons will chase their first three-game winning streak in 10 months Tuesday night while trying to slow the Magic's recent surge.
Detroit (7-23) sits at the bottom of the Central Division and seems to already be retooling for the future. The Pistons surprisingly waived Smith last week, less than halfway through a four-year, $54 million contract.
So far they're not missing the veteran forward, who eventually landed in Houston. The Pistons beat Indiana 119-109 on Friday before stunning Cleveland 103-80 two days later to match their win total from the previous 19 games.
Detroit, which shot 54.7 percent against the Pacers and set a team record with 17 3-pointers versus the Cavaliers, is now on the verge of winning three straight games for the first time since Feb. 7-10.
"I think Friday night was our best game of the year, and (Sunday) was better," Van Gundy said. "So, we've played our two best games of the year back-to-back. But we'll see. It's just two games. We've got a long way to go, but (Sunday) was a step forward."
That's especially true for Brandon Jennings and Andre Drummond.
Jennings had 25 points Sunday on 10-of-18 shooting, including 5 of 9 from long range, after the guard had 14 points and 10 assists with two steals against the Pacers.
Drummond is averaging 18.0 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over the last three games. The center dominated the paint against the Cavaliers, scoring 16 points with 17 boards while matching his season high by swatting away five shots.
"Everyone just has a free mind, no pressure," Jennings said. "We're just going out there and playing basketball."
The Pistons lost 107-93 at home to the Magic (13-21) on Nov. 17, and they've dropped seven of the past nine matchups in Orlando while averaging 92.6 points.
Orlando has followed a four-game slide with three wins in four games after Victor Oladipo scored four points in the final 43 seconds of Monday's 102-101 win at Miami.
"We showed some toughness," coach Jacque Vaughn said.
Nikola Vucevic has made his presence felt under the basket in the past two games, totaling 48 points while sinking 21 of 36 (58.3 percent) shots. The center will find himself matched up with Drummond, but he held the advantage with 25 points and 14 boards compared to Drummond's 12 and 10 on Nov. 17.
Oladipo shot 8 of 10 and finished with 20 points off the bench in a 112-98 win over Detroit in the most recent meeting in Orlando on Feb. 5. However, the guard has missed 22 of 29 shots while totaling 21 points in the last two home games.
The Magic have dropped seven of their last nine in Orlando.
