BSJ Game Report: Celtics 118, Pistons 110 - Hayward heating up as C's finish strong before break

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' win over the Pistons in quickie form with BSJ insight and analysis.

https://twitter.com/celtics_stats/status/1095882061179699200

HEADLINES

What a difference two games make: Less than a week ago, the Celtics looked like they were in disarray after blowing huge leads in home losses to two poor teams in the Lakers and Clippers. They were falling in the standings, and Marcus Morris was ripping his teammates. Gordon Hayward looked forever lost. Now, after back-to-back wins over the Sixers and Pistons? All seems right in Green Land. The Celtics are now, thanks to the Pacers' loss to the Bucks, just one game behind Indiana for third in the East. They look like they're having fun, and Hayward is actually playing well. The feeling around the team, heading into the All-Star break, seems much better. We'll have to see if they pick up there when they return with a huge game against at the Bucks.

Hayward starts stacking success: We've seen Hayward have big games here and there, but he hasn't been able to string together consecutive games and it feels like Brad Stevens force feeds him into the lineup as soon as shows anything. Well, after 18 points against the Pistons, Hayward has now posted at least 15 points in three consecutive games for the first time all season. Hayward continues to show off the well-rounded game that made him an elite player in this league with eight assists and eight free throws (seven makes), which shows his aggression to the hoop. Hayward started for the first time since Dec. 21.

"When our offense started taking off, I feel like we’ve had a couple of point guards in the game at once," said Stevens. "And playing him as a second point-guard with (Marcus) Smart we thought was really important.  You know, when Kyrie (Irving)’s not here usually we start Terry (Rozier), Smart and kind of keep that – keep that thing going. But you know, that was the general thought and then we knew we were going to switch a lot and the bigger that we could be along the perimeter, the better."

Hayward has averaged 17.0 points on 61.2 percent shooting (9-18 3s), 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists over his last five games. Hayward has scored at least 15 points in four of his last five games (10 such games through first 48 contests).

Stevens shuts down talk Celtics are better without Kyrie Irving: You know it was coming. The Celtics have now won their last six games when Irving has been out of the lineup. So, about that, coach...

"No. We need Kyrie to be the best version of ourselves," Stevens said. "We all need to consistently play better as a group. We’ve done that at times, and we’ve rode Kyrie in a lot of cases, and he’s carried us in a lot of games. And we need everybody at their fullest and there’s no question about it, he’s going to be a guy that is going to make a ton of plays for us moving forward. We just need him to get healthy.”

TURNING POINT

Celtics saw their halftime lead cut to three on Detroit's open possession of the third quarter, but answered with a 15-4 run to get some breathing room. Hayward, Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum all hit 3s during the stretch, which jumpstarted the Celtics to a 34-20 edge in the frame.

SECOND GUESS

What is the deal with Stevens' aversion to using timeouts? After the Celtics took a 100-72 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Pistons went on an 18-2 run to make it somewhat interesting and Stevens didn't call a timeout to change momentum.

TWO UP

Al Horford: Back-to-back games aren't normally the veteran's strong suit, but after having a great game in Philly, Horford was awesome in this one, coming up two assists shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Horford was a game-high plus-26 and his rebounds were a season high. Not bad against Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond.

"I thought his two games were outstanding, and when he wasn’t in the game we struggled, when he was, we were better," Stevens said. "And that was clear last night, too, obviously. Against those guys with size that protect the rim so well, he gives you the ability to stretch it out and drive it."

Semi Ojeleye: B-Robb wanted more Semi minutes and, by golly, he got more Semi minutes — and they paid off. He wasn't one of the six Celtics to score in double figures, but he was highly efficient in his 19 minutes by shooting 75 percent, making two of three 3-pointers and finishing a plus-19 (second on team) because of his defense.

ONE DOWN

Daniel Theis: Shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and was a team-worst minus-16 as he played some sketchy defense.

TOP PLAY

Look out for The Semi!

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1095856121451954177

BY THE NUMBERS

8: Consecutive points for the Celtics to start the game. They then allowed Detroit to go on a 24-5 run to trail by 11 at one point.

12: Wins for the Celtics in their last 15 games.

14: Points for Marcus Smart in the third quarter, including four 3-pointers. He was 0 for 4 from downtown to that point and was in an o-for-20 drought.

19: Points for Jayson Tatum. He's averaging 20.4 points on 47.2 percent shooting in his last five games.

49.2: Field-goal percentage for the Celtics' five starters, who all scored in double digits.

ONE TAKE BEDARD WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

Just stop with the Kyrie talk — but he better not play in the All-Star Game: This performance by the Celtics will only fuel the flames of people who think the Celtics would be better off with Irving. Look, this is great against teams that aren't really contenders. But when it comes to potentially getting out of the East or knocking off the Warriors, they're going to need Kyrie. That being said, he should skip the All-Star Game. You can't take the two games off before the break and then play in an exhibition. That would seriously ruin all the good vibes the Celtics have built up before the break. Of course, the Celtics' brass won't criticize him if he does.