Despite some sketchy (to put it nicely) officiating in the final minute & change, the Celtics got a 99-93 win over the Pistons in Detroit tonight. Three Reggie Jackson foul shots, the result of a bad call with 1:08 left, enabled Detroit to cut what was once a 16 point fourth quarter Boston lead to 92-85 with 1:08 left in the game. But Jonas Jerebko put the dagger in his old team’s chest when he buried a baseline jumper with 10 seconds left to seal the deal.
Both teams came out looking pretty sloppy tonight, as Boston & Detroit combined for 11 1st quarter turnovers. The C’s tried to get themselves going from long range, but shot just 1 of 8 from three. Thankfully, the backcourt of Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas were able to get to the basket & generate some offense from outside. Their 15 points were key in Boston being up 25-24 after one. Coach Brad Stevens went to the “Hack-a-Drummond” early on, but it was not successful. Drummond shot 3 of 4 from the FT line, and his 9 points led the Pistons through one quarter of play. The C’s also had some lapses on the defensive end which they would need to eliminate right away. Steve Blake going coast to coast with impunity is simply not acceptable-especially from a squad that prides itself on tough defense.
Boston played better D in the second quarter, and overall were more consistent on both ends. They were aggressive offensively, led by Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley. Boston went on a 14-4 run with just over 4 minutes left in the quarter and were up 51-41 w/0:36 left in the 1st half. But the C’s still had trouble controlling the ball, and a couple of quick turnovers enabled the Pistons to cut the lead in half. Boston led 51-46 after 2 Q’s.
The Celts came out strong to start the 2nd half. A nifty Amir Johnson running hook made it 56-44 Boston with just over 4 minutes left in the 3rd. Jared Sullinger was more than holding his own with Detroit’s bigs, as the Boston forward was all over the glass tonight. His 8 points and 4 boards in the 3rd were instrumental in the Celts building a sizable lead. The defense was fantastic, as they held Detroit to 7 of 23 shooting (0 of 6 from three) in the 3rd. The Celtics headed into the final frame up 76-61.
Detroit managed to whittle Boston’s lead down to 9 after an Andre Drummond hook shot made it 80-71 with just over 8 minutes to go in the final quarter. The Celtics responded however, by playing some great defense and staying aggressive offensively despite struggling a bit with their shooting. Jae Crowder came up big with five points in less than a minute that put the C’s up 91-80 with 2:38 left. Things did get interesting over the final couple of minutes as mentioned above, but Boston stayed calm & played their game. The Celts now head back to Boston where they play the Knicks tomorrow night. Brad Stevens said that guard Marcus Smart could possibly make his return.
Green:
- Jared Sullinger was solid tonight. The Celts’ big man grabbed 8 boards to go with 10 points in 21 minutes.
- Despite shooting 4 of 14, IT dished out 9 asissts and went 9 of 10 from the FT line. He finished with 17 points. His backcourt mate Avery Bradley led the Celts with 18 points.
- Amir Johnson was a super efficient 6 of 7 from the field with 12 points & 8 rebounds in his return from injury.
Gross:
- Boston had 15 team turnovers which led to 17 points for Detroit, and the Pistons got 25 second chance pts to our 11.
- Celtics shot 4 of 23 from downtown
Greenlights:
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Grid: (quick stats)
- Boston was out rebounded 51-47
- Celts had 50 points in the paint to Pistons’ 46
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