Detroit was the better team tonight against the Eastern Conference’s #2 seed.
This Detroit Pistons season is special. Considering what every player and fan had to experience last season, it’s unbelievable that Detroit is having such a successful season. Cade Cunningham is an All-Star who could make an All-NBA team this year and Detroit is approaching the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference. Tonight, they extended their winning streak to 8 with a 117-97 victory over the Boston Celtics .
Boston got hot at the end of the first half, but it really wasn’t that close of a game. Detroit looked like the better team on both sides of the court against the defending champions. They forced 17 Boston turnovers and outscored them 62-20 in the paint. Detroit’s defense shined tonight as they have now won eight games for the first time since 2008.
They say basketball is a game of runs, and the first quarter was exactly that. The game started with a 13-2 Detroit run, but Jayson Tatum got hot and led Boston on an 18-5 run to take the lead. That’s when Ausar Thompson decided to get three consecutive steals, two on Tatum, and brought the energy to Little Caesar’s Arena after Detroit had an 11-0 run to end the first. The Pistons held a 29-20 lead and Thompson had four steals in the quarter.
Joe Mazzulla had to take a timeout two minutes into the second after Detroit started off on a 9-2 run. Detroit was getting plenty of offense in transition, and considering how athletic they are, it’s not a surprise they’re ranked #2 in the NBA in fast break points. However, Boston’s strength is the long ball, and they hit six consecutive threes during a 27-12 run to tie the game up at 55 heading into halftime.
Most of Boston’s points were coming from deep as they only had 10 points in the paint and shot 54% from three. Tatum had 15 points while White and Pritchard both had 12 with four threes each. Detroit was led by Beasley (12) and Cunningham (10), but the Pistons were struggling to shoot from deep at 28%. They did a good job getting inside as 32 of their 55 first-half points were in the paint.
Detroit was able to reclaim the lead in the third. The Cade Cunningham-Jalen Duren pick-and-roll was an issue for Boston’s defense as Joe Mazzulla needed another timeout after three straight Duren layups put the Pistons up 10. Ausar hit a mean crossover on Tatum late in the quarter and Detroit took an 11-point lead heading into the fourth with a score of 90-79.
Beasley started the final quarter with two consecutive threes after forcing two Boston turnovers, and that sequence sent LCA into a frenzy as he threw his hands in the air to pump up the crowd. Boston brought in their five bench players with five minutes left in the game to throw up the white flag with Detroit winning by 18. The Pistons closed it out to win 117-97.
Malik Beasley led the way for Detroit with 26 points, including six threes. Cade added 21 points and 11 assists while Tobias contributed with 16 points and nine rebounds. Ausar Thompson made his impact felt defensively with five steals and some great perimeter defense. Detroit moves to 33-26 and is a half-game back from the 4th seed.
The Pistons will host Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
You know the Pistons won again! Ws in the chat!