Celtics Shake Slow Start and Outpace Pistons who Tie Losing Streak Record

BOSTON — Joe Mazzulla told the Celtics at shootaround, their first full gathering since the west coast trip, to not enter their game against the Pistons — and their historically bad losing streak — with any expectations for how the game would go. That message successfully delivered a win over the short-handed 76ers earlier this month. 

Boston would need to adjust on the fly again, overcoming a 21-point deficit with a mix of pace that marked their offensive reinvention on the west coast, along with their methodical Kristaps Porzingis-led late game execution. The Celtics won, 128-122, in overtime, improving to 10-5 in the clutch and 13-0 at home, avoiding the kind of loss to a team at the bottom of the standings that marked last regular season.

“I showed them the paint points, I showed them the layups we gave up, I showed them the second chance points we gave up and I showed them each coverage that didn’t work because we weren’t trying hard,” Mazzulla said, describing halftime. “Then I said, let’s pick one and let’s try hard at it.”

Defensively, Cade Cunningham felt Boston picking him up higher and slowing down Detroit’s offense after he opened by shooting three of the Pistons’ first four shots, burying each that he attempted. Cunningham made himself the face of Detroit’s struggles with regular media appearances following their losses late this month, and on the verge of two winless months and matching NBA infamy — he came out firing. On a night where he posted 31 points, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, he lined up the game-winning corner three that fell in Bojan Bogdanović’s hands to force overtime. The night became another lesson — for both teams.

The Celtics missed their early jump shots, and both Tatum and Derrick White botched wide open layups at the rim through a maddening, slow-paced start that drew the Celtics their first TD Garden boos of the season. Tatum spotted up for an early three over Bogdanović, then missed his next four until landing one to close the first quarter. Mazzulla saw the Pistons’ post dominance slowing the Celtics.

“There’s a time and a place to slow the game down, but for the majority of the game, we want to play fast,” Tatum said. “Everybody can handle the ball and I think that’s when we’re the hardest to guard. Just take the right shot. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, but you’ve still gotta make them respect it. There are times where you can get downhill and put extra pressure on the defense and the refs.”

Porzingis’ inside game, screening and mismatch hunting, also kept Boston within a possession early before an 8-0 Pistons run built an 11-point lead. Cunningham caught an alley-oop finish as Alec Burks and Isaiah Livers joined his early run, while Neemias Queta checked in first off the Celtics’ bench with a hook shot and hard screen on Tatum’s three to stay within three entering the second.

The Pistons outscored Boston 36-20 through halftime, going ahead by five points through back line dunks from Jalen Duran and Ausar Thompson, threes from Burks and Cunningham, before Livers’ cutting finish pushed Detroit ahead by 11 on another 8-2 run. A 14-2 Celtics run to begin the quarter turned into a 20-6 Pistons burst, and while Tatum blew by Cunningham with ease on the block, he settled for and missed all three of his jump shots in the frame.

Jrue Holiday lost the ball twice in the lane, Boston matching Detroit’s looseness with the ball early. Cunningham blew by Queta, Ivey ran in transition for two following a Tatum miss and Cunningham pulled up for a mid-ranger to sink the Celtics into a 19-point hole as the boos rained down. Detroit led 66-47 at half.

“We talked about it, we knew that we have some of these moments where we play a bit slower,” Porzingis said. “There are gonna be moments we’re gonna need that, but we have the talent to do whatever, go fast, go slow, play five-on-five, but running out in transition is an effective way to play basketball, getting a lot of open looks, easy ones, and we have to keep doing that. Sometimes it doesn’t maybe pay off, you run and don’t get the ball, but we have to keep doing it.”

The Celtics began the fourth quarter, only 13 minutes later, with a lead after Tatum emerged from his first half struggles with 10 points, four assists and three steals on his way to five, matching his career high in the latter category. He barreled through Duren for two and found Porzingis for three to cut 10 points off the lead, with the big man on his way to a 23-point second half. He grabbed Tatum’s miss during his next trip to the free throw line, allowing Tatum to find Horford in the corner for three, then Tatum ran out for a finish of his own in transition to pull within one as the Garden erupted. Tatum drove for a three-point play and pushed the ball to Porzingis to close the third, finishing the night with a similar touchdown pass and the loudest roar of the night in overtime.

Back-to-back finishes from White propelled Boston ahead by four, but Bogdnaovic hit a spot-up three and found Cunningham in the corner to match Horford’s make behind the line. Tatum swarmed Cunningham and nearly forced a turnover down one, but the Pistons’ star escaped and found Burks in the corner for an important swing ahead four. That allowed them to withstand back-to-back Porzingis post fadeaways in the final minutes, only trailing by three when Tatum blew past Cunningham inside. Detroit answered Porzingis’s three in the pick-and-pop with White, which capped a 10-0 run, with back-to-back three point plays by Ivey. Tatum stepped to the side, receiving praise from Mazzulla on his way to a season-high 10 assists.

“Success looks different for Tatum,” Mazzulla said. “His ability to handle in pick-and-roll, his ability to screen, his ability to get to his spot, his ability to defend, his ability to stand in the corner and empower K.P. … that to me is value … what success looks like … he doesn’t come into a game thinking he’s just going to affect it one way.”

Tatum beat Cunningham again, this time through a goaltending call. Tatum chose his jump shot at the buzzer again, which fell short on a night where Boston shot over 60% from two and under 30% from three.

The Pistons momentarily led by two in overtime before White bookended a 9-3 Celtics run that started with White completing a three-point play at the line and a huge make from behind the arc — which propelled Boston’s lead to four, 119-115, inside the two-minute mark.

Then, White slipped back door for an open layup in response to a pair of free throws from Duren before Porzingis’ dunk ended the Celtics’ fast break and Detroit’s hopes of recovering from blowing what was a 21-point, first-half lead. Porzingis made it a 123-117 advantage, where Celtics stayed in front with only 45.0 seconds left on the game clock. The Celtics, generating 108 possessions, took another step into their new offense.

“I thought we reinvented our offense a little bit with our off-ball and our pace,” Mazzulla said following the west coast trip. ” … on-ball switching and off-ball switching are two things that we’re gonna see, and we’ve known over the last two years switching has slowed us down. So can we think with the end in mind in the sense of, how can we attack switching differently? … our transition has to do that, and then our off-ball pace and execution has to do that. It’s just important that I thought was important to stress during this stretch of games.”