The Detroit Pistons lost 119-111 to the Utah Jazz to move to within one defeat of equalling the NBA's longest single-season losing streak.
It was their 25th straight loss, prompting chants of "sell the team!" from home supporters in Detroit.
The Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010-11 and the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013-14 share the record of 26 consecutive losses.
"This is history no-one wants to be a part of," said Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham.
"We're not 2-26 bad - no way are we that bad," added Cunningham, who led Detroit with 28 points and 10 assists.
"I think we can turn this around. We can play a much better brand of basketball."
The Pistons have won two games this season, the last of which was against the Chicago Bulls on 29 October, and this result roots them to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
They gave away 27 points from 20 turnovers against the Jazz, who were missing key players.
"I want to be careful with my words - this one hurts more than most of them," head coach Monty Williams said.
"A team that played last night got [50] points off turnovers and rebounds. It is unbelievably hard to understand how we can get outworked in those categories," he added.
Kelly Olynyk logged 27 points, six assists and four steals for the Utah Jazz, who are fourth bottom of the Western Conference.
The all-time longest losing streak in NBA history is a 28-game run by the Sixers spread between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Elsewhere, Anthony Edwards scored 27 points, seven rebounds and made five assists to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-111 win over the LA Lakers, who were missing LeBron James through an ankle injury.
Chet Holmgren added 23 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 134-115 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, ending the Clippers' nine-game winning streak.
The Milwaukee Bucks registered their sixth straight victory as Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to help his side beat the Orlando Magic 118-114.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs suffered their 21st defeat in 22 games, falling 114-95 to the Chicago Bulls as Coby White scored 22 points and DeMar DeRozan added 21.
