The Celtics wrapped up their four-game road trip with a tough loss in Detroit on Monday night, falling 104–103 to the Pistons in a physical, tightly contested game.
The game featured nine lead changes and 14 ties and was not decided until the final possession. Jaylen Brown had a good look at a potential game-winning jumper as time expired, but the shot did not fall.
“The margins are very, very thin when two great teams are playing with that type of physicality in that type of environment,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Honestly, I thought the game came down to, like, six 50-50 balls that we didn’t come up with.”
With the win, Detroit claimed the season series, three games to one. Three of the four matchups were decided by two possessions or fewer, and none by more than seven points.
Five Celtics players scored in double figures. Brown led all scorers with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists. After a one-game absence, Payton Pritchard finished with 17 points on 5-of-8 (62.5%) from the field and 3-of-6 (50.0%) from three, with three rebounds and three assists.
For the Pistons, Tobias Harris led the team with 25 points on 11-of-20 (55%) shooting. Cade Cunningham, despite a rough night from the field at 4-of-17 (23.5%), contributed 16 points and a game-high 14 assists, which was more than the entire Celtics team combined.
Here are six takeaways as the Celtics fall 5.5 games behind the Pistons for the top seed in the East.
Another clutch loss
The Celtics are 11-6 since December 15. All six of their losses have come in the clutch (a game within five points with under five minutes remaining). They are now 9-12 in clutch games this season. 10 of their 16 losses have come by two possessions or fewer, including five by one possession.
Outside of blowout losses to Houston and Milwaukee, the Celtics have played every team tough this season. Their effort and fight on a night-to-night basis deserve credit.
Still, they need to find a way to win these close games. Jayson Tatum will go a long way toward addressing the issue, but the team’s struggles to execute down the stretch have cost them too many winnable games this season.
Derrick White struggled
For the second time in three games, Derrick White made just one shot. He went 1-of-7 (14.3%) in Miami on Thursday and 1-of-11 (9.1%) on Monday night, marking a season-low. It’s the first time in a Celtics uniform that White has taken at least 11 shots without making any.
He did contribute nine rebounds and led the team with five assists and two blocks, but it’s difficult for Boston to win when he scores just four points on a night like this. The struggles show up in the numbers: the Celtics are 4-11 this season when White shoots under 35% from the field.
Over his last four games, White is shooting 12-of-43 (27.9%) from the field and 3-of-20 (15.0%) from three.
White could be due for a break. He has played in 41 of Boston’s 42 games this season and hasn’t sat since November 30 at Cleveland. He leads the team in minutes with 1,401. Perhaps Monday’s home game against the 10-34 Pacers could provide the perfect opportunity to give White a day off and recharge.
Boston’s turnovers were the difference
The Celtics have had the same number of turnovers or fewer than their opponents in 28 of 42 games this season (66.6%). It’s usually a margin they dominate, but on Monday night, they didn’t, and they paid the price.
Boston turned the ball over 14 times, to Detroit’s eight. The most significant discrepancy came in the points off those turnovers: the Pistons scored 19 points, while Boston scored just six. Detroit’s 19 points off turnovers accounted for 18.2% of their total.
“They do a great job because of their speed and, obviously, athleticism, to be able to score off live-ball turnovers,” Mazzulla said. “That’s one of the best things they do. They punish you.”
Detroit’s active hands were on display all night, with nine steals and nine blocks. That allowed them to thrive in transition, outscoring Boston 20-3 in fastbreak points.
Sam Hauser stays hot, but disappears late
January has, without question, been Sam Hauser’s best month of the season.
After finishing with 16 points on 6-of-9 (66.7%) shooting from the field and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from three, Hauser is now averaging 14.2 points per game since the turn of the calendar, along with 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists. Over that nine-game stretch, he is shooting 44-of-88 (50.0%) from the field and 36-of-78 (46.2%) from beyond the arc.
Those numbers represent a significant jump from where he entered the month, when Hauser was averaging 7.2 points per game while shooting 36.6% from the field and 36.7% from three.
When Hauser is producing offensively, it gives the Celtics a different look, one he has consistently provided over the past few weeks. On Monday night, however, Boston could have used more of that aggression late. Hauser did not attempt a shot in his seven fourth-quarter minutes.
Foul trouble gives Xavier Tillman some run
For starters, there were far too many whistles in this game. It felt like nearly every trip down the floor ended with a stoppage, which likely contributed to the choppy flow and lack of offensive rhythm.
Luka Garza picked up three fouls in just 3:04 of the first quarter. With Garza in foul trouble and Josh Minott still working his way back from a sprained ankle, Joe Mazzulla turned to Xavier Tillman for his first non-garbage-time minutes since the win over Cleveland on November 30. He also briefly went to Baylor Scheierman at the five.
Tillman played just 1:36, as Neemias Queta handled the bulk of the second-quarter minutes, with Scheierman mixed in before Garza returned in the second half.
This was a showcase of the best teams in the Eastern Conference
It may seem obvious given their positions atop the Eastern Conference standings, but this game was a clear showcase of the conference’s two best teams. And coming on the heels of the Knicks being booed off the floor at Madison Square Garden after a loss to the Mavericks, their fourth straight defeat and ninth in 11 games, the gap between the top two and the rest of the East doesn’t feel particularly close.
These teams could very well meet again in the postseason, and if they do, what a treat it would be.
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