The Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons 130-120. The Celtics jumped out to a large lead early, but the Pistons fought back and made things interesting. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 28 points and Cade Cunningham had 27 points and 14 assists for Detroit. The Celtics were without their stars, Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday, while the Pistons played without Ausar Thompson. The Boston Celtics moved to 18-4 with the victory and the Pistons fell to 9-15.
The Boston Celtics’ Dominant Start
Kristaps Porzingis got things rolling for the Boston Celtics early. He blocked a Tobias Harris dunk attempt and scored Boston’s first points on an alley-oop. The Celtics took a commanding 21-7 lead, generating fast points off turnovers. Every Boston starter made a three-pointer in the game’s first few minutes. This opening barrage put the Pistons at a disadvantage, and they were scrambling to get back in the game. Cunningham got a huge dunk on Derrick White to wake up the Detroit squad. It worked as the Pistons went on a 7-0 run. Still, the Celtics ended the first quarter positively, with a posterizing dunk from Brown. The Boston Celtics led 39-24.
Brown scored a dominant 16 points in the first quarter. When Brown was subbed out in the second quarter, other players stepped into the spotlight. Malik Beasley and Marcus Sasser gave the Pistons a spark off the bench. Beasley was hot from three and Sasser got to the rim efficiently, helping Detroit close the gap. The Pistons cut the lead to as low as 10. Cade Cunningham also heated up for Detroit, but the Celtics began to pull back ahead. At halftime, the Boston Celtics led 72-58.
In Tatum’s absence, Brown was up to 23 points at halftime on 8-of-13 shooting. Porzingis had 13 points and White had 11. Cunningham led the Pistons with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, going 3-of-4 from three. Then, Jaden Ivey, Beasley, and Sasser had 9 points apiece. The Boston Celtics were in front, but the same thing happened the last time they played the Pistons. The Celtics had a 23-point lead, but Detroit came back and took the lead. The Pistons would battle back again in this game.
The Detroit Pistons Make It Interesting
In the third quarter, things remained even as both teams traded baskets. The Pistons were eager to trim the Boston lead, while the Celtics wanted to put the game out of reach. It was a back-and-forth affair until Detroit brought the deficit to 10. The Celtics went cold, and the Pistons were running them off the three-point line. Sam Hauser helped Boston with an and-one and a few threes, earning a season-high in points. The Boston Celtics maintained their advantage through three quarters, leading 103-88.
The Detroit Pistons continued to fight back in the fourth quarter. Beasley heated up again, drilling a fallaway three as the shot clock expired and another three in transition. A 12-0 Pistons run, almost entirely through Beasley, helped them trim the lead to single digits. It suddenly became a six-point game with six minutes remaining. An alley-oop from White to Porzingis put the Celtics back up double digits. A Pritchard three then put them up 14 with three minutes to go. The Pistons kept it interesting, cutting the lead to five on an 8-0 run, but another Pritchard three put a stop to that. The Boston Celtics held on for a 130-120 win.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Celtics improved to 18-4 with the win. Brown led the team with 28 points, 9 assists, and 3 steals. Porzingis scored 26 points, and Sam Hauser had a season-high 20 points. Pritchard scored 19 off the bench. The Detroit Pistons dropped to 9-15 despite their comeback efforts. Cunningham and Harris scored 27 points apiece and Malik Beasley had 23 off the bench. The Boston Celtics are 2-0 in the season series, and these teams will meet again next week.
