The Boston Celtics will try to avoid losing two games in a row for the first time this season when they play the Detroit Pistons at home on Thursday.
The Celtics haven’t played since they lost 127-121 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Boston managed to come back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to take a four-point lead in the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t keep up in the final minutes.
“Effort was good,” said Boston coach Joe Mazzulla. “You’re down 14, take the lead. In the fourth quarter, I felt like we didn’t really have a rhythm to the game, but we were able to take the lead. I thought we kind of just ran out of gas here towards the end.”
It was Boston’s fifth game in seven nights, and they shot 18 of 60 from three-point range.
“These are the games you’ve just gotta fight through it,” said Jaylen Brown. “Tough schedule, but we don’t make any excuses. We know what the journey is about and we’re not skipping any steps. I thought we fought as a team. We didn’t let the rope go. We didn’t give up.”
Sam Hauser, one of Boston’s top reserves, left Saturday’s game in the second quarter with what the team called right adductor tightness. Mazzulla downplayed the injury after the game, saying, “He’s doing pretty good. He said he’d be OK, but he just wasn’t able to finish (Saturday’s game). But afterwards, he said he was good.”
However, Hauser is listed as doubtful for Thursday’s game. Also listed as questionable are All-Star Jayson Tatum (right patella tendinopathy), Jaden Springer (non-COVID illness), and Jordan Walsh (rib contusion).
Cade Cunningham had 29 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds to help the Pistons end a three-game losing streak with a 120-111 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday. Cunningham, Detroit’s first-round draft pick in 2021, is averaging 23.9 points, 9.4 assists, and 7.3 rebounds in 21 games this season.
“I try to do whatever it takes to help my team win, and my teammates have made me look great this year,” Cunningham said. “I’m just trying to help my team win and we’ll see what happens with it.”
The Pistons used an 18-4 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Knicks. Detroit’s Malik Beasley made 7 of 10 three-pointers and finished the game with 23 points.
“We’re trying to build and taking steps,” said Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “The hardest thing to do in the NBA is find consistency, whether as an individual or as a team. But it’s the habits we do every single day and, hopefully, (the victory over New York) is another game that’s a big step for us. But we keep seeing the value in those habits and we keep getting better and better.”
Thursday’s game will be the third meeting of the season between the Pistons and Celtics. Boston won 124-118 in Detroit on October 26, and Cunningham had 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 14 assists in Detroit’s 130-120 loss in Boston on December 4.
“I don’t say this lightly by any means but being around (Cunningham) and spending time with him — he’s the guy,” Bickerstaff said. “He has the ability to be an elite guy on a basketball team because of all of the things he’s capable of doing. He can manipulate the game, he can score, he can rebound, and he makes his teammates better.”
