Hours after being announced an All-Star starter for the first time in his 10-season career, Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown dropped 32 points on the Pistons in Detroit, but in the end, JB and the C’s came up one play short.
Boston ultimately had a chance to win the game on the final shot. With four seconds left, Brown received an inbound pass around the top of the key and drove right on Tobias Harris before lifting up for a mid-range fadeaway that was actually a really good look.
The shot was on-line but long, and the Pistons escaped with a one-point victory, bettering their record to 31-10, while the Celts fell to 26-16 on the season.
These are the top two teams in the East record-wise, and it felt like it.
It was a brutally physical matchup that the refs had trouble getting a handle on, especially in the fourth quarter.
Harris led the way for Detroit in scoring with 25 points on an efficient 11-for-20 from the field. He hit a huge three down the stretch.
Cade Cunningham, also an All-Star starter, was flawless as a floor general, finishing with 14 assists and zero turnovers (!) despite his poor shooting night (16 points on 4-of-17 from the field). Cunningham hit a key floater late in addition to a tough lefty finish a few plays prior. He continues to prove that he’s easily a top-10 player in the world.
Payton Pritchard was Boston’s second-leading scorer with 17 points on just eight shots (3-of-6 from 3). Derrick White had a tough night shooting the ball — 1-of-11 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3.
Brown wasn’t very efficient (11-for-28), but he added 11 rebounds to go along with his 32 points and played like a warrior down the stretch, in spite of obvious fatigue.
These two teams are pretty evenly matched, with two superstars on each side. The Pistons have the superior frontcourt situation, but Boston’s guards are more experienced as a unit in comparison to Detroit’s. Cunningham is elite, but Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson aren’t as reliable offensively as guys like Pritchard and White (although White was off in this game).
It feels like the Pistons are a slightly better team right now, whereas the Celtics would absolutely be better than Detroit with Jayson Tatum in the picture, even if he were only 75 percent of his normal self.
This an interesting thing to think about if JT really is coming back this season.
