BSJ Game Report: Celtics 128, Pistons 122 (OT) - Detroit puts serious scare into Boston, but Porzingis, White too much

Everything you need to know about the Celtics overtime win over the Pistons, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics started out slow and the Pistons, behind 10 from Cade Cunningham, started hot to build an 11-point lead. Boston closed on a 10-2 run to end the first down three. They lost the second quarter by 16 behind perhaps their most comically terrible 12 minutes of basketball. That changed in the third quarter when Boston started attacking, going 10-12 from 2 while also shooting 3-7 from 3 to erase the entire halftime deficit. They went back and forth after that, with Alec Burks hitting some shots and Kristaps Porzingis answering, but Jayson Tatum missed a good look and it went to overtime. The Porzingis/Derrick White combo took over from there, and Boston avoided becoming part of history

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Just as expected: I’ve been trying to tell you that this was going to be a weird one since last week’s Picks ‘n Pops. None of this excuses the things Boston did wrong, it’s just that it was incredibly predictable that they’d struggle. 

- Kristaps Porzingis the closer: Porzingis finished the game with 35 points, 11 in the fourth quarter and six in the overtime. 

- Derrick White, also the closer: He finished with 23 points, six in the fourth and 10 in overtime. At one point it became obvious that the best offense was the White/Porzingis pick-and-roll and no matter what they got out of it, it was going to be good. 

- Tatum still not shooting well, but still doing other things: He was 2-11 from 3, and many of those were not the best shots in the world. He turned to some more attacking after the half, and had seven assists and three steals after the break. He was a +10 in the game and a +28 after halftime. 

TURNING POINT

Boston went on a 10-2 run after it was tied at 115 in overtime. Porzingis and White scored nine of those. 

THINGS I LIKED

- The response: I get it, we all wish things had gone perfectly from the beginning. I think we also either knew or should have known this was going to start poorly. 

“I'm not worried about what happened in the first half. That's going to happen from time to time,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “I'm more worried about how we respond to it. It says more about our guys, how we responded to the second half than how it went in the first half. We're just not going to play perfect basketball all the time … So I think if you just focus on the details and the execution, you can chip away at it, and you kind of saw that from the guys. We got some stops, we chipped away at it, we got some easy baskets, and then it became a game.”

The second half didn’t exactly go perfectly, but it went well enough to keep Boston’s home winning streak going (15-0 now) as well the Pistons losing streak (28, now tied for the longest stretch ever). 

- Going to Porzingis late in games: High post, low post, 3-pointers … whatever it was, they made it a point to find Porzingis in clutch situations and it paid off over and over again. As I’ve said many times, this is why Brad Stevens was willing to give up Marcus Smart so quickly after the Malcolm Brogdon element of the trade fell through. He’s worth it, and he makes the ends of games where Tatum or Jaylen Brown (who was out with a back contusion) don’t have it easier to handle. 

- Derrick White: “We both agreed (the first half) was probably the worst half he's ever played in his career,” Mazzulla said. “Kind of laughed about it and didn't change anything, and he went out and played a great second half. So guys like him, he has great poise, great stability. That's probably the first time I've ever seen it just not go his way. And I really liked how he responded.”

- Tatum’s other things: This was a great play from Tatum: 

Let’s examine this situation for a hot second. Boston’s up one, Tatum has zero points, and it’s closing time. He’s set his defender up for a classic Jayson Tatum step-back 3-pointer, except he drives. 

Wow. Okay. Well he must be taking this shot because it’s Tatum-time right? This is what closers do and Tatum is paid to be the closer, right?

Nope. He spins, sees five black shirts, and White wide open. 

Tatum made the pass, as well as many other plays, on his way to a 31 point, 7 rebound, 10 assist night. Tack on five steals as well and just three turnovers and Tatum’s other things were pretty great. 

As Mazzula noted, “there were times where he screened, there were times where he handled, and I thought he just did a good job of, ‘okay, one part of the game is not going well, how can I affect the game in other areas?’ And he did it with his drives and with his defense.”

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

Tatum’s shot selection early in the game: Too many pull-ups. I don’t know if his ankle is limiting him or if he’s just trying to find his shot, but he needs to find the line between the opponent respecting it and finding higher percentage looks. 

To be fair, though, he didn’t settle for one of those at the end of regulation. He got a good shot there. I’m sure the “that’s why you call a timeout” crowd will be loud about this one. 

- The start: We all knew this was coming. If a moron like me can predict how this game was going to go, how could these guys not find a way to start better than they did? 

I know it’s not that easy. Human nature is what it is. But did it have to last the whole half? Actually, the second quarter was the worst quarter of the season for Boston. The kinds of turnovers they were committing were not just bad, they were comical. 

- Rebounding: Holy [very many expletives deleted] the rebounding was [even more expletives deleted] atrocious. They gave up 19 offensive rebounds for 31 second-chance points. Eight of those rebounds, and 13 of the second-chance points, came in the fourth quarter alone. 

“As like a fan and even when you’re on the bench, it looks bad,” Porzingis admitted after the game. “You’re like, ‘come on, guys. Just grab the rebound. Like what the hell.’ But they play chaotic and just (Jalen) Duren is a great offensive rebounder, really like physical guy and a lot of those guys like (Kevin) Knox and they’re long and they get in there and they’re always like running in, so it’s not that easy to box them out and so, it had to be a team effort. 

“In moments we did rebound the ball better, we were able to get those stops and not give them those second chances, so overall yeah, it’s a bit frustrating to watch at some points, and we can get better at that, for sure.”

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The Pistons are not as bad as their record says. 

I’m going to use this space to give the Pistons some deserved respect. This team plays hard and doesn’t quit, which is hard to do when they're on a streak like this. It’d be very easy to come out and be consumed by the losses, but these guys aren’t playing the worst basketball in the league, despite what their record says. 

“Obviously, everybody knows the elephant in the room, their record, but they're a talented team,” Tatum said. “They're more talented than some of the other teams in the bottom end of the standings, especially individually, they got some really talented guys over there. Well coached. I haven't watched every game they played, but, you know, the games I have watched, they been in most of them. They play hard, they make shots and they've lost a lot of games that were kind of close. I haven't seen any game where they got blown out.”

I can get on the Celtics for coming out slow and for not rebounding -- they deserve the criticism they get for that. But I’m not sure they could have anticipated Detroit’s intensity. It’s like a fighter thinking he can take a few shots as he goes for haymakers because he has the power to hit a knockout punch whenever he wants. Except, the shots the Pistons threw were pretty stiff.

“You might think it would be easy and they come and punch you in the mouth and you got to regroup,” Tatum said. 

Call me crazy, but once the Pistons win one, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them put a halfway decent stretch together, maybe even string a couple of wins in a row. They're not very good, but they're not 28 straight losses bad, either. 

Next up: The Celtics face the Raptors tomorrow night here in Boston on a back-to-back