Jayson Tatum piled up 37 points and the visiting Boston Celtics continued their dominance of Detroit with a 124-118 victory over the Pistons on Saturday night.
The Celtics have won their past 10 meetings with the Pistons. Detroit’s last win in the series was a one-point victory on Feb. 16, 2022.
Jaylen Brown had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Payton Pritchard supplied 19 points, while Al Horford and Derrick White added 17 points apiece.
The defending champions finished the first week of the season with a 3-0 mark. Detroit, which set a franchise record for most losses last season, is still seeking its first win under new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
Jaden Ivey led Detroit with 26 points. Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 10 assists, Malik Beasley added 17 points and Jalen Duren chipped in 15.
The Celtics led 73-62 at halftime while making 16 of their 32 3-point attempts. Boston led by as many as 23 points — 67-44 — but the Pistons closed the gap by going on an 18-6 run to finish the half.
Boston was still up 85-74 with 7:26 left in the third after White’s dunk. Detroit then reeled off a 14-1 run to take the lead. Duren had two inside baskets during that span and Stewart added two layups, including the go-ahead basket.
Tatum’s 3-pointer with 35.7 seconds left in the quarter gave Boston a 94-90 lead. Beasley answered with a 3-pointer before the quarter ended.
Pritchard hit a 3 in the opening minute of the fourth to give Boston a 99-93 advantage. The Pistons regained the lead at 105-103 on two free throws by Simone Fontecchio. They increased the lead to six, 112-106, on Cunningham’s layup.
The Celtics then scored eight unanswered points, including a pair of 3-pointers by Jrue Holiday. Ivey’s basket from in close tied it 114-all before Tatum made two free throws. Tatum doubled the lead with a jumper after Ivey missed a 3-point try.
Beasley’s 3-pointer pulled Detroit within a point. White, Brown and Tatum then made free throws to clinch Boston’s victory.
–Field Level Media