The dodged ones Celtics He got off to a slow start Thursday night in a 123-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden. Boston played without Jayson Tatum (knee) and Sam Hauser (adductor strain) for the game and struggled to score early without a pair of key shooters, mustering just 15 points in the game’s first 10 minutes.
Boston’s offense came alive in the second quarter, but the hosts opened the game with a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter. The Celtics extended their lead to as many as 32 points in the second half, leading to Boston’s second win over the Pistons at TD Garden in eight days.
Payton Pritchard (27 points, 8 assists) led six different Celtics to score in double figures in a balanced offensive performance for Boston without Tatum. Derrick White (23 points) was red-hot from 3-point range, going 7-for-12 from 3-point range in the win, while Pritchard added seven makes from downtown. Boston improved to 2-0 without the All-Star this season and 20-5 overall, pulling within a game of the Cavs for first place in the Eastern Conference. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the upset.
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Boston now has two days off before taking on the Wizards in Washington on Sunday night.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win Thursday night:
Payton Pritchard takes on a bigger role: With Jayson Tatum sidelined and the Celtics offense looking sluggish out of the gate, Pritchard was aggressive immediately after his insertion midway through the first quarter. The defenseman played the final 18 minutes of the first half and provided a needed jolt of energy for Boston’s offense, leading the team in points (14 points), assists (5) and field goal attempts (12) to help the Celtics build a point. 15 point advantage at the break. Pritchard’s 3-point shooting (7-for-15 from 3-point range) was once again the main source of their offense, but much of that offense was self-created against the Pistons’ wings. Pritchard’s ability to find good looks off the rebound has been one of his biggest improvements this year and was needed amid a quiet night from Jaylen Brown (14 points).
Pistons shooting comes back down to earth at TD Garden: There was some rusty basketball out of the gate on both sides after a long layoff due to the NBA Cup, but the Pistons were a far cry from the team that shot 51 percent at the Garden last wednesday This time, Detroit opened the game with 13 consecutive misses from beyond the arc until Simone Fontecchio broke the ice midway through the second quarter. They shot just 10.5 percent from deep in the first half (2-of-19), digging themselves a double-digit hole against the high-volume Celtics from 3-point range. They didn’t fare much better after intermission, shooting just 16 percent from downtown on the night in the blowout loss.
Kristaps Porzingis is finding his groove: The 7-footer acknowledged Thursday morning that he’s still finding his groove two weeks after his return from offseason surgery, but he took a positive step in that direction Thursday night. Porzingis (19 points, eight rebounds) was aggressive with his shooting all night, especially in the middle of the post, where he created easy opportunities for himself and his size-mismatched teammates against Pistons defenders. The frontcourt of Luke Kornet (12 points)/Porzingis has also provided valuable minutes on both ends with excellent rim protection and Kornet providing some easy finishes at the rim. Boston’s ability to go to more double looks now with Porzingis shooting to help spread the floor is still a big plus for Boston’s overall defense and rebounding.
Cade Cunningham looks like an All-Star: There’s not much to get excited about for Pistons fans these days, but Cunningham looks like a goaltender in the final year of his rookie deal. He flirted with a triple-double for the second straight week in Boston, leading his team in points and assists. With a lack of reliable secondary weapons around him, Cunningham is also a tough manufacturer against Boston’s defense. He needs to cut his losses, but he seems worthy of the maximum extension the team gave him over the summer.