“I expected this to be one of the hardest games of the year,” Joe Mazzulla said after his Celtics narrowly escaped embarrassment, defeating the Detroit Pistons 128-122 in overtime.
They may not have directly talked about it, but the Celtics knew what was at stake – everybody did.
The two-win Pistons haven’t won a game since October, riding a now 28-game losing streak, the longest single-season losing skid in NBA history. It goes without saying -- no team wants to be on the wrong side of Detroit snapping this skid.
The absence of Jaylen Brown (back) paired with the first game back from a long West Coast trip, was a recipe for disaster for the Celtics.
For most of the first half, there was some nervous energy at TD Garden. Boston played their worst half of the season, being outscored 66-47 and falling behind as many as 21 points – marking Boston’s first 20+ point deficit of the season and the Pistons’ first 20+ point lead.
Boston’s 47 points were their fewest in the first half this season – and it was as ugly as it reads. The C’s shot 18-of-46 (39.1%) from the field and 4-of-24 (16.7%) from deep. They also totaled 10 turnovers, which is more than they had in each of their last four games.
The defense was just as bad. Detroit's 66 points were the most they have scored in the first half this season, and they did so on 61.4% shooting, as Boston struggled mightly with their defensive rotations.
Late in the second quarter, Cade Cunningham knocked down a wide-open 17-foot jumper to put the Pistons up by 19, drawing booing birds from the TD Garden crowd.
As the Celtics hit the halftime locker room, they knew they had to be better.
“We all just kinda looked at each other, and Joe [Mazzulla] came in, and we knew even without words being said,” Kristaps Porzingis said when reflecting on the message at halftime. “We knew we had to come out with a different kind of mindset, different kind of energy in the second [half]. Have each other’s back and trust each other. Joe said the right words for us, and we came out looking like a different team.”
The Celtics came out and responded in a big way. Though the second half wasn’t perfect, it was enough to overcome the 19-point halftime deficit, their largest first-half comeback since April 30, 2021, when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs after being down by as many as 32 points.
Kristaps Porzingis led the way for the green, posting a season-high 35 points, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds, and recording an assist and a clutch steal.
Though it wasn’t his finest shooting night, Jayson Tatum finished with 31 points on 11-of-31 (35.5%) shooting from the field and 2-of-11 (18.2%) from distance. Tatum also missed the potential game-winner at the end of regulation, which was a great look he just couldn’t knock down.
Despite the rough shooting night, Tatum impacted the game elsewhere, posting a season-high 10 assists, snagging seven boards, and notching five steals (tying his career-high) – becoming the only Celtic in franchise history to record at least 31 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, and five steals in a game and just the 22nd player in NBA history to do so.
"I say it all the time, [I’m] just trying to have an impact on the game,” Tatum said postgame. “It's not always gonna be scoring but just doing whatever I can to kind of ensure that we win the game."
Cade Cunningham finished with 31 points in the setback. Much like De’Aaron Fox last week, the Celtics did a great job adjusting to Cunningham at the half, holding him nine points on 3-of-9 (33.3%) shooting in the second half and overtime.
Here are three takeaways as the Celtics advance to 24-6 on the season and 15-0 at home.
Another rock-solid third-quarter
Make no mistake about it, the turning point in this game occurred in the third quarter.
The Celtics dominated the period, outscoring the Pistons 35-16 and knotting the game as they entered the fourth quarter. This marked the first instance since 2003 that the Celtics finished a quarter leading or tied after being behind by as many as 19 points.
The charge was led by Porzingis (12 points) and Tatum (11 points, three steals), as their 23 points alone outscored the Pistons, and they did so on 8-of-11 (72.7%) shooting and a combined 6-of-8 (75%) at the free-throw line.
Boston played with pace and attacked the paint, as they found some life offensively – shooting 13-of-20 (65.0%) from the field and 3-of-6 (50%) from deep in the period. They also turned the ball over just once.
The C’s are at their best when they are playing defense and getting out and running, and that’s exactly what they did in the third quarter.
For as bad as the Celtics have been in the third quarter this season, it’s been a strong suit for them over the last five games.
Boston has outscored its opponents by 58 points in the third quarter over its last five games, averaging 37.0 points (most in the NBA) over that stretch, while surrendering just 25.4 (third-fewest). The C’s have posted a 154.2 offensive rating (best in the NBA) and 105.8 defensive rating (third-best) over that stretch.
Derrick White and Porzingis step up in the clutch
At one point, the White/Porzingis pick-and-roll was nearly unstoppable as they completely overwhelmed Detroit with their two-man game.
Porzingis, as he so often does, exploited switches and completely dominated the Pistons in the post. The Latvian big man finished with 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime on 6-of-10 (60%) shooting – single-handedly changing the course of the game with his presence in the middle.
Meanwhile, White shrugged off arguably the worst half of his career in the first, pouring in 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime on 6-of-8 (75%) shooting. The 29-year-old guard scored or assisted on 10 of Boston’s 17 made baskets in the fourth quarter and overtime (58.8%).
The duo of White and Porzingis combined for 16 points in overtime, scoring five of Boston’s six made field goals and helping the Celtics secure their first overtime win this season, and advance to 10-5 in clutch games.
Worst rebounding effort of the season
Statistically, the Celtics have been a good rebounding team this season.
The C’s entered Thursday night second in rebounds per game and 15th in opponent's rebounds per game. Additionally, the Celtics have done a decent job keeping their opponents off the offensive glass, surrendering 11.0 offensive rebounds a game, resulting in 14.1 second-chance points per game – both ranking in the middle of the pack in terms of league averages.
However, Detroit killed the Celtics on the glass Thursday night. Outrebounding the C’s 57-43. Over the last 10 years, Boston had been 4-45 when outrebounded by 14 or more.
A good way to let an inferior team hang around is to give them extra possessions, and that’s exactly what Boston did. The visitors grabbed 22 offensive rebounds on the night, resulting in 31 second-chance points. According to Cleaning The Glass, the Pistons posted a 41.8% offensive rebounding percentage (The percentage of available offensive rebounds a team obtains while on the floor).
Eleven of Detroit's offensive boards came in the fourth quarter and overtime, resulting in 17 second-chance points. None bigger than Bojan Bogdanović’s with 4.6 seconds remaining in regulation which forced overtime.
The Celtics made things a lot more difficult than they needed to be with their inability to grab a rebound – which was especially surprising considering Boston went double-big frequently.
Overtime would not have been played had Boston not surrendered eight offensive rebounds resulting in 13 second-chance points in the fourth quarter.
The extra period will make things a little bit more difficult for the Celtics, as they now welcome the Toronto Raptors to town for the second night of a back-to-back.
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