This was not a close game. At least for about the middle 40 minutes or so. Some serious defensive lapses in the middle stretch of the fourth allowed Detroit back into it, but when the dust settled and the referees stopped blowing whistles, the Celtics won 102-95, running their record in the second game of a back-to-back to 9-3.
Boston started out the game 2-7 and then caught fire, putting together a 9-0 stretch that was the game’s turning point. For much of the first quarter they controlled the tempo and kept Detroit on their heels. By the time Stevens made his first substitutions, Boston was up 17-10. Over the first 8 minutes and change, Andre Drummond was the only Piston to hit a field goal, and he had all but three of Detroit’s points.
Both the starters and the bench looked really engaged on defense in the first quarter and the offense which cooled down a bit when the second unit came in heated up again at the end of the period when Marcus Smart buried a pair of three pointers from the top of the key. After one, the Celtics were up by eleven, 27-16.
Detroit started the second quarter with a sense of urgency and the C’s didn’t help themselves much by missing a pile of shots. They hit only one field goal through the first three minutes and the lead was down to six before Smart buried yet another three pointer from the top of the key–and this one didn’t even ripple the net. Boston’s lead was nine at the second quarter media timeout. Halfway through the period, Boston’s bench had pushed the lead to 13 and Stan Van Gundy had to call a timeout to talk about it.
With three minutes to go, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope slipped near the Pistons bench, did the splits and had to be helped off the court. That same wet spot took out Crowder too, but he was unscathed. That took a lot away from the Pistons, who sort of limped to the end of the period. Boston’s 13 point lead at the midpoint of the quarter was a 20 point lead at the end of the quarter on a crazy Thomas three, again, from the top of the key. Score at the half was 56-36 Boston.
Detroit’s field goal percentage for the half was under 30%, but you know what? The Celtics have been there too, which is why defense is so important. Detroit couldn’t hit Boston Harbor, but they also couldn’t stop Boston from making shots, hence the 20 point hole at halftime.
Boston started the third quarter on an 9-5 run, and then Detroit went on a 9-0 run with three consecutive triples. That prompted a Celtics timeout. Ersan Ilyasova did his level best during the middle stretch of the quarter to single-handedly bring Detroit back into the game, getting the Detroit deficit as low as 12 before Boston started building the lead back up, and at the end of the third the lead was 18, 78-60.
A few three pointers for Detroit in the early minutes of the fourth gave the Pistons a bit of momentum and they steadily chipped away at the Boston lead. The lead got down to eight with under three minutes to go, before Isaiah scored on a traditional three point play and gave the Celtics some breathing room. That didn’t last as the refs seemed bent on using Aaron Baynes to get Detroit back into the game. Now granted this is hardly an unbiased website, but some of the fouls called involving the lumberjack-ish Piston were, shall we say, iffy. Marcus Smart was having none of that, though, and he put the game out of reach with a corner three that gave Boston a ten point lead with a minute to go. That held up despite a few more bizarre fouls, and the C’s carried the day.
Green
Quarters one through three. Marcus Smart for three.
Gross
Most of the fourth quarter. I get that Detroit is not as bad as that halftime deficit suggested, but the Celtics kind of came apart defensively over the fourth quarter and let the Pistons back into it.
Greenlights
@RichAJensen https://t.co/SwPxAFCe78
— KWAPT (@KWAPT) February 4, 2016
Marcus Smart showing situational awareness and getting behind the line.
Another deep trey for Marcus: https://t.co/0n4bLJuNUm — KWAPT (@KWAPT) February 4, 2016
GodZeller Smash! https://t.co/wxesEDhzx1 — John Karalis (@RedsArmy_John) February 4, 2016
IT rattles home a trey & Celts up 20 at half. https://t.co/kcGlG2PdHZ — KWAPT (@KWAPT) February 4, 2016
Jae and one: https://t.co/THr4SsFKrv
— KWAPT (@KWAPT) February 4, 2016
Grid
The Celtics had 56 points at the half, and no players in double figures. They finished the game with six players in double figures.
Bonus Greenlight
We leave you with this gem from MassLive beat reporter Jay King:
Stan Van Gundy gets a special kind of angry.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) February 4, 2016
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