Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope put on his transition high-wire act.

(AP Photo | Phelan M. Ebenhack)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- One joy-filled win, possible anomaly.

Two, including a road stomping of LeBron James in Cleveland -- well, that's a little different.

Now, after three consecutive Detroit Pistons victories, all by double-digit margins, the last two by 23 points apiece on the road, there is a distinctly different sense that this team's happiness may not be so fleeting after all.

The Pistons will end 2014 at 15 games under .500, yet they appear a much different team after their first three-game win streak under head coach Stan Van Gundy, the latest a 109-86 win Tuesday over the Orlando Magic.

"We don't feel like an 8-23 team, that's for sure," said Jodie Meeks, whose nine 3-pointers fell one shy of Joe Dumars' franchise record en route to a team-season-high 34 points.

In an eight-day span, the Pistons waived their highest-paid player, Josh Smith, traded Tony Mitchell, and have not lost since.

"It's been an emotional week for all of us, losing different guys, the days that we had off, the practices, going hard each and every day," said Andre Drummond, who had another monster game on both ends. "So for these wins to come for us, it really felt good."

The obvious conclusion is that when Smith was waived, the Pistons' struggling offense was clarified.

They shot 46.5 percent against the Magic, their third consecutive game at 45 percent or better.

That equals the number of times the Pistons shot 45 percent or better in the 28 games preceding the win streak.

"It's a lot of things," Meeks said. "Maybe roles are expanded. Maybe it just finally clicked. This is how the offense is supposed to be run. So maybe we had success one game and now we want to do it. But we're having success right now and that's all I care about."

What kind of night was it?

All 13 active Pistons played and contributed something statistically.

Detroit's bench outscored Orlando's 65-31.

The Pistons made 14 3-pointers, their second-most this season, after a franchise-record 17 in Sunday's stunner at Cleveland.

They also recorded consecutive 20-point-plus wins for the first time since February 2008, and did so in consecutive road games for the first time since January 2006.

When the starting backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope struggled on a combined 4-of-17 shooting night, backups D.J. Augustin (11 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, one steal, one blocked shot, two turnovers) and Meeks excelled.

Then there was Drummond, who had 17 points, 22 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocked shots. He might have had even bigger numbers but 5-of-16 free-throw shooting ended his night in the third quarter.

"To have 22 rebounds and only play 30 minutes, and not play the fourth, was incredible," Van Gundy said. "I thought he did a great job."

But the player who had the bench dancing most was Meeks, who was 11 of 16 from the field and 9 of 11 on 3-pointers.

The Pistons still are learning about their high-octane teammate, who missed the first 22 games with a back injury.

They have discovered that it doesn't take much of a heat-check for him to feel comfortable.

"When I hit one, I feel like I'm hot," Meeks said.

Meeks made six 3-pointers in scoring 20 of the Pistons' 34 second-quarter points, when the bench turned the game.

"Everybody wanted to give him the ball, there was absolutely no question about that," Van Gundy said. "And again, we are playing better as a team. Offensively, we've gotten a lot better."

Meeks said he did not know he was within one of Dumars' 1994 franchise record for 3-pointers, and acknowledged he would have liked to break it.

"It's one of those days," he said. "As a shooter, you love for that to happen. I wish I would've been 11 for 11 but it is pretty close to it. It was a fun night, not only for myself but for the whole team."

It was big for Van Gundy, too, even though when asked after morning shootaround what returning to Orlando meant, he said, "Just a building."

His position is that people, not buildings, bring back memories, and most of the key staffers who were here during the last of his five seasons as Magic coach, 2011-12, are gone now.

Regardless, there were plenty of onlookers keenly familiar with Van Gundy, and after spending the previous night with 20 or so family members at his home here, there had to be a little more emotional investment in this one.

Van Gundy often has mentioned his first Miami Heat team, 2003-04, which rallied from 11 games under .500 to make postseason and win a playoff series, as a model for how even a rebuilding franchise can improve within the context of a season.

Asked if this team is showing any of the same characteristics, Van Gundy replied, "I don't know -- we've got so far to go."

"But look, we've played three really good games," he added. "Our spirit in there is outstanding. The test of that will be (when) you're going through hard times with this group. Right now, it's all been -- they've had three days of practice right before Christmas, did a great job, they were all excited, they've had three good games, everybody's excited. But we'll see how we respond when we get knocked in the mouth again, because it will happen.

"We're probably not going to win 54 straight."

NBA: Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic, Dec. 30, 2014 9 Gallery: NBA: Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic, Dec. 30, 2014

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