This afternoon in Detroit while you were probably watching the NFL, the Celtics (4-3 overall, 2-2 road) picked up one of those rare wins in sports that felt more like a loss as they just sneaked by the lowly Pistons (1-5 overall, 1-3 home) 122-120 at Little Caesars Gross Pizza Arena. Don't misconstrue the overarching point here: any kind of win is always better than a loss, especially when the C's fell 96-93 to the Pistons on Friday night at the same empty place. Unlike in that setback, shooting guard Jaylen Brown (game-high 31 points) and forward Jayson Tatum (24 points, career-high 12 assists, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) each hit clutch shots late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. However, it should not have to come to that against what will undoubtedly be one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference and probably the entire league when the 2020-21 regular season concludes.
Washed up power forward Blake Griffin (13 points) returned from a concussion but he played like he was still in a fog, shooting 4-for-14 from the field including 3-for-10 on three-pointers. Forward Jerami Grant (team-high 22 points, 6 rebounds) once again was Detroit's best player vs. Boston so it was strange to see him give up the last shot to Griffin who shot-putted an air-ball on a desperation 3-pointer at the final buzzer. Center Mason Plumlee (13 points, 8 rebounds) scored a little more today than in the first matchup but at least this time, the Celts did a better job containing him on the glass while small forward Josh Jackson was off to a hot start with 13 points in 14 minutes before an ankle injury ended his day prematurely. Detroit's bench owned Boston's to the tune of 54-23, mercy. Former MVP Derrick Rose had 13 points and eight assists while shooting guard Svi Mykhailiuk added 15 points in 15 minutes.
As you'd figure, Boston had more balanced scoring from its starters which made up just enough for how badly their bench was outplayed. Center Tristan Thompson had another double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds), point guard Marcus Smart (17 points, 10 assists) had his best game of the season and his first double-double along the way while power forward Daniel Theis added 15 points. Head coach Brad Stevens gave forward Semi Ojeleye his most minutes of the season (22) and he responded by scoring 11 points including hitting a trio of three-pointers which is the equivalent of found money for the C's. Like Jackson, Celtics point guard Jeff Teague left with an ankle injury that is troubling with their second back-to-back of the season on the horizon.
The miserable start in the first quarter that plagued Boston on Friday was nowhere to be seen as the two teams were close all game long. Detroit led 33-31 after the first quarter but the Celtics found themselves ahead 61-57 at halftime. The home team narrowed Boston's advantage by one point with a solid third quarter (31-30) and the C's barely survived (getting outscored 32-31) in the fourth quarter. Boston shot the ball great (56.3% to 47.7%) from the field which was much-needed since they barely got to the free throw line (25-13 in attempts and 22-9 in makes in favor of Detroit). The Celtics also controlled the glass with eight more rebounds (41-33) including four more offensive boards (12-8). Thanks to Tatum they had six more assists (35-29) which made up for twice as many steals by the Pistons (8-4) on Boston's eight more turnovers (17-9).
The C's were lucky they were playing the Pistons today and not a higher quality opponent since a better team would have punished them for being so sloppy. Following the end of this two-game set, Boston finally got out of Motown and headed directly to Covid-19 central, I mean Tampa Bay which is the temporary home of the Raptors (1-4). Tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) will be the first meeting between the two Atlantic Division rivals since they went seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals in the bubble. The Celtics won that battle and hopefully they take advantage of a struggling team that thus far is one of the most disappointing clubs in the league less than two weeks into the regular season. The C's seemed to never win in Toronto so maybe playing the Raptors on what is essentially a neutral court will help mitigate that hex.
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