Jaylen Brown scored 28 points and recorded nine assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 130-120 win against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
Kristaps Porzingis added 26 points and nine rebounds, while Sam Hauser made five of 10 three-pointers, finishing with 20 points. Payton Pritchard contributed 19 points, Derrick White added 14 points and 11 assists, and Al Horford also scored 14 points.
The Celtics extended their home winning streak to six games and have won nine out of their last 10 games. Detroit, on the other hand, lost its third consecutive game.
Cade Cunningham scored 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and provided 14 assists for the Pistons. Tobias Harris also scored 27 points, and Malik Beasley added 23.
Boston played without Jayson Tatum (right knee) and Jrue Holiday (left knee). Tatum leads the team with an average of 28.4 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game, while Holiday averages 11.7 points per game.
Before the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned that Tatum’s injury is improving daily.
The Celtics led 39-24 after the first quarter and 72-58 at halftime. Boston made 11 of 26 three-point attempts (42.3%) and shot 56.5% from the field before the break. Brown scored 23 of his 28 points in the first half.
The Pistons cut the deficit to 10 points with a Harris three-pointer that made it 90-80 with 5:19 left in the third quarter. However, Boston increased its lead to 103-88 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Celtics led by 20 early in the final quarter before Detroit went on a 12-0 run, bringing the score to 109-101, capped by a Beasley three-pointer. Cunningham’s jumper brought the Pistons to within six with 6:48 remaining, but Detroit could not get closer than five points for the rest of the game.
This was the second meeting between the Celtics and the Pistons this season. Boston won the first matchup 124-118 in Detroit on October 26. The teams will play again in Boston on December 12 and in Detroit on February 26.
