3 Studs, 3 duds from Celtics' clutch 124-118 win over Pistons

Through the first half of the Boston Celtics’ game against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, it looked like a third straight blowout was imminent. Boston looked like the reigning champions, and the Pistons looked like one of the worst teams in the league. But then, the tides slowly began to change.

As Boston got lazier and lazier, Detroit picked up their intensity. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Pistons had erased a 23-point lead, even holding a six-point lead of their own in the final frame. But as all of the best teams do, the Celtics stayed composed, and they barely hung on to earn a 124-118 victory in Detroit.

Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ win over the Pistons.

Stud - First-half Celtics

Since this was truly a tale of two games, the first half will be encompassed with one stud. This is for Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Payton Pritchard, all of whom were unconscious in the first half of the contest.

Boston rained down threes like it was their job in the first half (because it is). Those four guys combined to score 69 of the Celtics’ 73 points in the first two quarters of the game.

They shot 16-of-29 from beyond the three-point line, putting on a clinic from deep. It was crazy to watch, but Boston’s 11-point halftime lead only lasted so long.

Dud - Laziness

The Celtics were amazing from beyond the three-point line in this game. Especially in the first half. But that led to laziness on both ends of the floor.

By the time the second quarter was rolling down, the Celtics offense divulged into an isolation-heavy, dribble-heavy mess. Guys were chucking up random shots, attacking mismatches without keeping their heads up, and failing to take advantage of a young Pistons defense.

And on the other end of the court, they let Detroit get hot. The Pistons were getting whatever they wanted in the paint.

What should have been another blowout win turned into a tightly-contested game. The Pistons brought the energy, and it took a while for the Celtics to match it.

Detroit was running at the Celtics all throughout the second half of the game, and Boston was struggling to find their footing. Even when the fourth quarter came around, the two sides were going shot for shot, and that’s when the Celtics didn’t fumble their way through their offensive possession

Stud - Derrick White

In the first half, Derrick White wasn’t a part of the Big 4 who scored all of the Celtics’ points. But he did account for the four points that weren’t scored by Tatum, Brown, Horford, and Pritchard.

That’s not where his value was in this game, though.

The third quarter saw a small scoring frenzy from White, and he came in clutch with some big baskets in the fourth, too. A quick look at the box score won’t tell the whole story, but White helped keep the Celtics afloat.

As Boston lethargically crawled through the second half on offense, White’s steady flow of buckets (every once in a while) was crucial. He also provided the Celtics with some impressive defense, snagging a pair of big blocks in the fourth.

White’s box score performance doesn’t hold a candle to some of his teammates, but Boston would have been lost without him in the second half.

Dud - Second-half Celtics

This goes in line with the rest of the duds, but when the Celtics go cold, they go ice cold. An incredible first-half performance was met with the Celtics’ worst offense of the season by a landslide.

Everything that was going down for Boston in the first and second quarters was missing the mark, but they didn’t adjust their game plan quickly enough.

And when the open shots weren’t falling, the Celtics ended up taking a few too many isolation looks that took them out of their elite offensive rhythm.

Stud - Fourth-quarter composure

The Celtics threw this game away. They had a massive lead in the first half and let it dissolve with lazy offense and lackluster defense. But when it came time to clutch up in the fourth quarter, they were ready.

On offense, a pair of Jrue Holiday threes got the Celtics back into a rhythm, one of which came off of beautiful ball movement. Then, a nice dump-in pass to Tatum, who had established deep post position, got Boston another bucket.

Boston’s defense was just as impressive in the last couple of minutes. After giving the Pistons far too much breathing room in the second and third quarters, they clamped down.

They almost forced multiple 24-second violations. White had two huge blocks. Brown was constantly pressuring ball-handlers and crashing the glass with all his might. Holiday had a clutch steal with under two minutes to play.

Outside of a couple of questionable isolation shots, everything the Celtics did down the stretch was by the books.

Dud - Three-point defense

On top of Detroit’s monstrous performance in the painted area, they also shocked the Celtics from behind the arc. They didn’t make nearly as many as Boston, but their efficiency was staggering.

Time and time again, the Celtics either sagged off or completely lost Pistons shooters behind the arc. Even guys who aren’t usually great from that range were making them.

Malik Beasley and Simone Fontecchio, in particular, were great for the Pistons. The Celtics just looked a step slow as the Pistons nailed more triples than most would expect them to.