BSJ Game Report: Celtics 117, Pistons 114 - White comes alive, C's survive frantic finish

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics worked hard for shots but missed most of them, leading to a six-point first-quarter lead for Detroit. Baylor Scheierman helped change that, and it led to a back-and-forth quarter that sent Boston into the half down one. Derrick White went off in the third and the C’s had a three-point lead. White’s roll continued in the fourth, and the C’s held on in a frantic finish. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- What a game!: This was easily Boston’s best and most entertaining win of the season. Joe Mazzulla went 11 deep, mixing and matching lineups that no one saw coming, and getting important performances from just about everyone. This game had everything … clutch shots, random heroes, questionable calls, and a dizzying finish. 

- Small ball works: The Celtics threw Josh Minott at center for stretches against Detroit’s size and it worked.

“It just gave us some crossmatches on the offensive end,” Mazzulla said. “I thought it put them in some tough spots offensively … and then defensively, I thought we battled. It almost forced us to have a heightened awareness to the physicality that's necessary to be able to play and I thought we did the best job that we could on the offensive glass throughout those stretches.”

- Welcome back, Derrick White: The second half was White at his absolute peak. He shot 7-10, 6-8 from 3, and had 25 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals after halftime. He hit some monster shots that blew the roof off the building. 

- Eliminated from the Cup: The Knicks and Heat won tonight, so the Celtics have been eliminated from the NBA Cup, despite their win over Detroit. 

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics went on a 12-4 run after the Pistons made it 97-93 with 7:08 to go in the game. White hit a pair of 3-pointers to make it 105-101 with 3:24 to go. 

There was obviously a lot of basketball left to play, the Pistons were starting to look like they were going to wear Boston down and the Celtics responded with a run to get Detroit back on their heels. The Pistons tied it up once after that, but never led again.

THINGS I LIKED

- The grit: This wasn’t just a hard-fought game. This was a game that won some fans over. They all played their asses off with maximum effort at all times. If the Celtics play like this every night, this team could go down as a cult favorite for some fans. They’ll also win a lot of games because this kind of energy will get them through some of the things that have cost them recently. 

- Derrick White: To say he needed this is an understatement. 

“It felt real good,” he said after the game. “It really just feels good to get the win, honestly. But it’s good to see some go in finally and just go from there.”

As usual, 27/7/3 is a great line, but three steals and a block, including a signature chase-down steal, is everything you want to see from White.

- Jaylen Brown: It was not an efficient scoring night, but he dropped 33 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. He was big in the second quarter as the Celtics kept the game close heading into halftime. He also became the third player in Celtics history to reach 500 points through the first 18 games of a season, joining Jayson Tatum (2022-23, 2024-25) and John Havlicek (1970-71).

- This box out by Jaylen Brown: 

The refs could have easily called that a foul on Isaiah Stewart. That play cleared enough space for Payton Pritchard to swoop in for the board. 

“I think he's given everything he's got on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously he had a great night offensively, but those plays right there, right? I think just timely plays that we have to make, and he made that.”

- The supporting cast: I’m not going to go through every individual play from all these guys, but the Celtics got great play, or at least some great moments, from Scheierman, Minott, Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, and Amari Williams. These guys got fourth quarter and clutch minutes to help close this game out. 

Williams got his first meaningful minutes and was solid. He spent the first half matching up against Jalen Duren and he didn’t completely fall apart under the weight of a big ask. He managed well, made a few plays at the rim, and helped give Boston a chance. 

Scheierman changed the energy in the second quarter and made some solid defensive plays, picking up Cade Cunningham on multiple possessions. 

This was a total team win. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Rebounding: I knew they’d struggle with it, so I’m not harping on it, but 21 offensive rebounds are too many no matter what. 

- Free throws: They might never win the free-throw margin again this season. Detroit was 29-36. Boston was 21-24.

- Luka Garza: He started but was quickly revealed to be unplayable. I don’t want to overreact to one game, but Williams was good enough in this one to place a pin in my board of data points. I want to see if Williams can do more with more opportunity. It’s not impossible to see a world where Williams becomes more useful than Garza at some point this season. 

HIGHLIGHTS

THREE TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- This is kind of how Mazzulla has been saying the Celtics can win these games. 

The Celtics got crushed on the boards. That's going to happen against teams like Detroit. 

And while this didn’t go EXACTLY how Mazzulla has been saying games like this need to go, the Celtics did, in fact, mitigate some of the damage of their own atrocious rebounding by doing other things to offset it. 

They had 18 second-chance points of their own, so they held the deficit to single digits, which is close enough that other things come into play. They were +5 in points off turnovers. So that got things closer. 

Obviously, the 3-point shooting was the major factor at the end, but you can see where Mazzulla’s repeated philosophy of mitigating the rebounding woes by doing other things can take shape. As the season progresses, we might see more examples of the Celtics getting the execution better. 

- It’s funny how things even out. 

Lose to the Nets, but beat the Pistons. This is the second time it’s happened for Boston this season. They lost to the Jazz but beat the Cavs early on, so some of those “coulda woulda shoulda” losses get balanced out by these kinds of wins. 

- The foul on Cunningham was correctly called. 

I’m slipping this one in at the bottom after everything because they won. Cunningham was, in fact, gathering for the shot as he felt the Celtics trying to foul. With that little time on the clock, it’s not unreasonable to say a team down three would attempt the heave. 

Mazzulla even credited Cunningham for timing it perfectly. This is why teams say don’t foul with the guy facing the hoop. Good players can feel it coming and occasionally get a call like this. Cunningham knew what was about to happen, so he gathered and went up for it. Smart play. 

Next Up: The Celtics visit Minnesota on Saturday at 5 p.m.