Boston Celtics Recap: Cs bounce back with revenge win against Pistons

The Boston Celtics found their offense on Sunday and used stellar performances from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to get their revenge win over the Detroit Pistons.

Unlike on Friday, the Boston Celtics didn’t struggle to score in the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons in Sunday’s rematch. Instead, they scored 30 or more points in all four quarters and avoided another ugly loss thanks to Jayson Tatum‘s go-ahead bucket in the final seconds to beat the Pistons 122-120.

Tatum filled up the stat sheet on Sunday, nearly totaling a triple-double with 24 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds to go along with two blocks on defense. Jaylen Brown continued his torrid pace to start the season, as he connected on 13 of the 16 shots he put up — including going 5-of-8 from three — and finished with a game-high 31 points.

The outing was largely a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to grab a commanding lead at any point in the game. Boston held an eight-point advantage with just over four minutes left in the third quarter and seemed on the verge of pulling away. They couldn’t quite put the Pistons away in the third, but held a 106-100 lead with 7:48 to go in the game.

At that point, the Boston Celtics looked to be assuming control.

However, looks can be deceiving and Detroit clawed their way back again, and the Pistons ended up going on an 8-0 run to nab a 108-106 lead with 6:01 remaining thanks to a Svi Mykhailiuk’s long-range shooting.

Mykhailiuk would nail a massive three with just under five minutes to go to give the Pistons a 111-108 lead, and he would make two free throws with just under four minutes remaining to give Detroit a 113-111 advantage.

That’s when the Celtics finally asserted themselves.

Marcus Smart drew a foul and made both free throws to tie the game, then Daniel Theis put up a bucket to give Boston the lead again with 1:56 left in the fourth.

From that point on, the shamrocks wouldn’t allow the Pistons to take the lead back, though there were still some dramatics at the end.

Detroit tied the game at 120 after Jerami Grant made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining.

On their next possession, Tatum got the ball off a Marcus Smart dish and nailed a 17-foot jumper with 2.9 seconds to give the Cs a 122-120 edge.

Blake Griffin attempted a shot on the other end of the court, but Tatum was there to get his hand on the attempt, and the Boston Celtics superstar helped his team walk away with a victory.

Boston’s dynamic duo of Tatum and Brown combined for 55 points, 15 assists, and nine rebounds while making nine of the team’s 15 threes.

Smart was efficient at point guard, totaling 10 assists and 17 points in his 34 minutes of action.

Semi Ojeleye was vital off the bench, connecting on three of his six three-pointers while Brown got some rest, finishing with 11 points.

Boston was able to survive an offensive explosion from Svi Mykhailiuk in the fourth quarter, as the 23-year-old guard went off for 13 points in the final period. Mykhailiuk hit three after three in the fourth quarter and finished with 15 points despite not playing at all in the first half.

The Pistons found a way to make plenty of shots against Boston’s defense, and they managed to get to the free-throw line early and often. Detroit attempted 25 free throws and made 22 of them, while the Boston Celtics shot just 13.

The Pistons forced more turnovers, got a ton of scoring from their bench, and connected on 44.4 percent of their threes.

Somehow, though, the Celtics were able to escape Detroit with a win, avoiding a disastrous 0-2 record on their weekend trip to Motor City.

Boston’s defense has been disappointing to begin this season, and their offense has been inconsistent for the most part. Sunday’s game saw the defense struggle both in the paint and on the perimeter, but the offense answered the bell.

The Cs put up 120-plus points for the third time in their first seven games, and they came away with another narrow victory.

Monday night’s contest against Toronto could be yet another close game for Beantown.

Three of their four victories have come by five or fewer points, and all but two of their seven games this season have been decided by five points or less. Similarly, Toronto has had three of their five games finish with a point margin of seven or less.

Close games have been the norm so far for Boston this season, but they were able to come out on top of Sunday’s nail-biter.