The Detroit Pistons picked up a hard-fought victory over the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 team on Monday night
In a game laced with the pretext of Cade Cunningham’s selection as an All-Star Game starter, the battle that unfolded between the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics, the top two teams in the East, more than lived up to the billing.
With Little Caesars Arena rocking, the Pistons survived a tight back-and-forth affair with a 104-103 victory in a game that went down to the final buzzer. The Pistons were leading by one point with 4.4 second left, and Boston took the ball out of bounds past the timeline.
From there, Celtics’ wing Jaylen Brown squared up for a fadeaway pull-up jumper in the mid-range, a shot that he’d gone to all game long, and the Celtics’ shot rattled out to give Detroit a 3-1 edge in the season series over Boston.
For the Pistons, Cade Cunningham’s shot still wasn’t falling, but the All-Star starter still managed to make plays for his teammates with 14 assists to complement his 16-point offering. Cunningham still hasn’t had a strong shooting performance from the field since coming back from his wrist injury, and tonight’s 4-for-17 mark represented a similar struggle, though the Celtics defense is nothing to scoff at.
From that perspective, Brown set out the game with intentions to guard Cunningham for most of the game. Brown was looking to make a statement about his two-way game, but the Celtics ended up cycling multiple defenders to deal with Detroit’s playmaking point guard. Brown did guard Cunningham quite a bit, but the 6-6 fifth-year ball handler was more than effective with his 14 helpers on the night.
Apart from that performance, the Pistons benefited from perhaps Tobias Harris’ best game of the season. Harris started the game off strong with a flashy lay up in transition before knocking down a three-pointer in the first quarter, and Harris continued to look for his shot all game long, clearly feeling the shooter’s rhythm. Harris posted 25 points on 11-for-20 from the field, including a trio of key triples, and the veteran led Detroit in scoring throughout a game that felt like more than a regular season contest.
“We wanted this game,” Harris said after the final whistle. “Obviously, two of the best teams in the East. Our group is up for the challenge every single night, every single time we play.”
The Pistons understood the stakes entering tonight’s contest. Apart from a narrow loss to Boston in the NBA Cup, the Pistons have had the Celtics’ number for much of the season. With an important one-point win in the books, the Pistons worked to extend their lead to 5.5 games over Boston in the Eastern Conference.
Boston entered the contest as the NBA’s second-best team at shooting three-pointers this season, but it was Pistons’ veteran Duncan Robinson who really lit it up from long-range on Monday night. Robinson connected on five shots from behind the arc, and the reliable marksman was able to provide the perimeter threat that the Pistons needed.
Taking Robinson’s prolific shooting performance into account, the vet has now hit at least four shots from distance in his last five games, which is a testament to how well the motion shooter has integrated into the Pistons’ offense after just 41 games.
At this point, the Pistons are now 31-10 in the regular season, which means the club is on pace to win 62 games before reaching the playoffs. Now, there is a lot of basketball to be played before those results will be known, but the Pistons are playing high-level basketball on a nightly basis and the rest of the league would be well-served to pay attention.
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