The Celtics’ recent skid continued Monday night at TD Garden, as they fell 112-105 to the Pistons (21-5) for their second straight loss.

Boston started strong, looking composed as they built a 12-point lead in the opening quarter against the Eastern Conference’s top team. But their offense stagnated as the game progressed.

The Celtics produced only 24 points in each of the last three quarters, repeatedly failing to generate open shots against Detroit’s punishing defense.

Jaylen Brown once again carried the scoring load for Boston. He finished with a game-high 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Derrick White supported him with 31 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter.

The late push wasn’t enough to overcome Detroit’s control. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 32 points and 10 assists. He produced a double-double, despite spending a stretch of the fourth quarter on the bench due to foul trouble.

The loss drops the Celtics to 15-11 on the season and ties them for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings. 

Here are four takeaways from Monday’s loss:

1. Early Dominance Doesn’t Translate Into Full-Game Effort:

Boston set the tone early with crisp ball movement and confident shooting, especially from beyond the arc.

The Celtics made five of their first 11 three-point attempts and looked ready to control the pace. That rhythm soon vanished, as Boston went cold from deep over the middle portion of the game.

From late in the first quarter through the third, the Celtics hit just one of 18 long-range attempts. This allowed Detroit to erase the early deficit.

The Celtics had some success attacking the paint and drawing fouls. Despite this, their lack of perimeter shooting flattened Boston’s offensive ceiling. They finished 10 for 39 from three. It marked one of their roughest shooting performances of the season.

If you’re going to play the way Boston wants to play, you can’t afford to have a night like this one from deep.

2. Brown Continues Elite Scoring Stretch:

Brown was Boston’s most consistent force, especially early.

He punished mismatches inside the arc and took advantage of switches to score efficiently.

The All-Star scored 18 first-half points on 8 of 11 from inside the arc while adding 5 assists before halftime. Boston built an early lead behind him.

His final line was 34 points, which extended his streak of 30-point games to five. Brown’s scoring keeps Boston afloat during this tough stretch, even if he’s hard on himself postgame for perceived lack of toughness.

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3. Rotation Thoughts:

With Jordan Walsh in foul trouble, rookie wing Hugo Gonzalez took on a bigger role.

The 19-year-old was the first Celtic off the bench, and he even opened the second half in the starting lineup.

Gonzalez also battled fouls, but showed poise on both ends. He finished with a team-best +9 in 17 minutes. His strong net rating this season still reflects his positive impact.

Gonzalez made a difference when on the court, even in a loss.

As far as Walsh goes, his lack of minutes towards the end of the game was curious, especially given how well he defended Cunningham down the stretch in that epic Thanksgiving Eve game that sort of was the catalyst of turning this season around.

Mazzulla explained it away in the postgame as a flow of game thing, saying Anfernee Simons gave them a better look offensively, and that’s what the game needed at that point in time.

I don’t think it was that, and I don’t think it was the foul-trouble, either.

My antennas are up for a potential injury/rest day situation for Walsh in the near future, even with all the rest this team has had of late.

4. Rebounding Gap Proves Costly Again:

Death, taxes, and the 2025-26 Celtics struggling on the boards.

Detroit’s advantage on the glass loomed large for the third straight meeting between these teams.

The Pistons generated 12 offensive rebounds that turned into 16 second-chance points, wearing Boston down as the game progressed.

Those extra possessions proved decisive in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics’ offense struggled to keep pace, and Detroit capitalized on extended trips down the floor to close out the win.

Boston will now get three days off before returning home Friday night to host the Miami Heat. Tip-off for that one is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.

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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.