In a matchup between the Eastern Conference's first and second-place teams, the Boston Celtics fell short of evening their season series with the Detroit Pistons, 104-103.
Here's what stood out:
Playoffs in January?
Anytime you get a one vs. two matchup, it’s going to have some extra juice to it. Throw in the fact that all three prior Celtics vs. Pistons meetings have been awesome games this season, and you’ve got two teams who desperately want to beat each other.
Right from the opening tip, it was obvious what sort of game we were all in store for on Monday. The first 12 minutes were full of physicality, which culminated in a little double-technical tie-up between Jaylen Brown and Isaiah Stewart.
There was something playoff-like about the way that both teams approached this game. It felt like the Pistons, in particular, had the Celtics scouted extremely well at times, making things difficult on them throughout the first half. At the same time, Boston did a great job taking Cade Cunningham out of his rhythm.
Detroit’s All-Star starter struggled to score the ball throughout the night, although he still created opportunities for his teammates.
The teams continued to go at it in the second half, with the Cs battling back from a halftime deficit to make it a game in the fourth. Over the course of the final 12 minutes, Boston and Detroit traded baskets, runs, hard fouls, and more before a Jaylen Brown fadeaway hit the back rim to seal defeat for the Celtics.
Overall, awesome game. It was a nice treat for mid-January. Hopefully, aside from the result, this is a sign of things to come in late-May.
Taking care of the basketball is important
It sounds obvious, because it kind of is. The Celtics have made an identity for themselves this season by taking care of the basketball. They entered the Martin Luther King Day showdown averaging the fewest turnovers of any team in the NBA.
Over the first 24 minutes, they did not look like it. Boston coughed up the ball nine times in the first half alone, helping the Pistons generate tons of offensive opportunities off of the takeaways. It was the biggest reason why the Cs found themselves down eight at the halftime break.
Wouldn’t you know that they got themselves back into the game in the third quarter and only turned the ball over three times in the process.
Boston committed back-to-back offensive fouls early in the fourth, too, which was frustrating because it curbed the momentum they’d spent so much time building.
Sam Hauser remains on a heater
As mentioned earlier, the second quarter was unkind to the Celtics. They desperately needed a spark coming out of halftime, and man, did they get one. Sam Hauser came out of the break on a mission, giving Boston eight quick points to kickstart a key response in this back-and-forth battle.
Hauser’s spark was just part of his strong outing against the Pistons. He followed up his near-record night on Saturday with a 16-point performance at Little Caesars Arena. These last two games have been part of a larger-scale hot stretch from Hauser, who struggled to knock down shots to start the season.