The Boston Celtics knew they would be facing a desperate ball club in the Detroit Pistons, but judging from how they played early in the contest, it seems pretty clear they misjudged just how desperate the Pistons actually were. Detroit jumped out to an early, big lead, going up by as much as 21 points in the first half.
The Celtics came out much more focused and aggressive in the second half, walking down the lead to retake it at the end of the third quarter. Boston looked poised to close it out until a late Pistons surge sent the game to overtime, the Celtics finally getting their act together to pull out a 128-122 win in the extra period.
Despite putting up 31 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 5 steals, Jayson Tatum had an atrocious shooting game, going 11-of-31 overall, and 2-of-11 from 3.
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Kristaps Porzingis (35 points, 8 boards) led the team in scoring, and had help from Derrick White (23 points, 5 assists) and Jrue Holiday (12 points, 9 rebounds) — and very little from the bench.
With the win, the Celtics improve to 24-6, and face the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden on Friday.
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