GAME: No. 28 of 82
WHO: Celtics (22-5) vs. Pistons (14-11)
WHEN: 4:00 EST
WHERE: Little Caesar's Arena
RADIO: 98.5 the Sports Hub
TV: NBC Sports Boston
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM
Starting Lineups:
Celtics
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Pistons
PG: Reggie Jackson
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Stanley Johnson
PF: Tobias Harris
C: Andre Drummond
THIRD QUARTER NOTES
- Celtics open up the third quarter on a 16-5 run, with some balanced offense and some ugly shooting by the Pistons. They started the frame shooting just 2-of-13 from the field. \
- Pistons just look like a demoralized team in this game. C’s are taking away a lot of what worked early in their first win in Boston and they are letting that impact their play and shot selection.
- Reggie Jackson takes an early seat in the third quarter in favor of Ish Smith, who is playing with far more energy.
- Pretty pullup 3-pointer in the pick-and-roll by Jayson Tatum. If he starts hitting those on a regular basis, lookout.
- Pistons showed some signs of life later in the quarter when the bench got into the game and trimmed the C’s lead down to single digits at points (from a high of 18). That group played with more energy in transition, while the likes of Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown made some iffy decisions on offense that led to turnovers.
- Huge game for Aron Baynes, who continued to shut down Drummond and the Pistons’ drives to the rim while gobbling up rebounds. He’s got a season-high 13 rebounds in three quarters alone.
- Big-time 3-pointer at the buzzer by Terry Rozier to push the lead to 14 heading into the fourth quarter.
SECOND QUARTER NOTES
- Interesting lineup with Irving and Horford anchoring a bench unit of Smart, Rozier and Theis. Appearing to try to take advantage of the Pistons bench rotation.
- Ish Smith can’t shoot well but he’s great at getting inside of the C’s defense on the drive. Had a couple of nice early dishes and an offensive rebound. Shane Larkin got a few minutes on him in the second quarter to try to slow him down.
- Pistons are ice cold early outside of Avery Bradley (10 points).
- Celtics offense stalled in a major way with 9:53 remaining in the second quarter. C’s went nearly eight minutes without scoring a field goal and scored just two minutes over that stretch. The bad offense was mainly a product of turnovers (eight in the period) and too much reliance on the jump shot from spotty shooters like Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier.
- C’s managed to maintain the lead despite the ugly offense with some great defense and rebounding, as well as some an off shooting night from the Pistons. Harris/Drummond/Jackson were a combined 2-of-13 in the frame.
FIRST QUARTER NOTES
- Celtics continue to have a tough time with Tobias Harris, who hit a pair of early jumpers.
- Kyrie Irving a lot more aggressive early, making quick moves in the pick-and-roll before Avery Bradley can lock in on him.
- Celtics roll out to a 13-0 run, largely behind some great offense by Al Horford (4-of-4 shooting, 8 points).
- Avery Bradley heads to bench early, trying to matchup with Irving for minutes.
- Al Horford heads to the bench with a limp early after banging knees with Anthony Tolliver. He tried to limp it off but left the floor a couple minutes later.
- Jayson Tatum bricked a dunk, but I’ll give him a pass on it since Andre Drummond was looming.
- Horford returned to the court a few minutes after getting back to the locker room.
- Some nice disciplined offense early by the Celtics, hitting on the weak spots in the Pistons’ half court defense. 0 turnovers after first.
- Andre Drummond held scoreless in the opening quarter with zero offensive rebounds. Great job by Aron Baynes and the team Celtics defense to limit him down low.
PREGAME NOTES
- Aron Baynes is probable to play after taking a shot to the stomach from Pau Gasol in Friday's loss to the Spurs. Marcus Morris is questionable as he continues to battle a sore left knee.
- The Pistons have dropped five of seven overall after beating the Celtics back at the TD Garden two weeks ago.