Detroit Pistons lose to Boston Celtics, 111-99: Game thread replay
Detroit Pistons (14-40) vs. Boston Celtics (37-16)
When: 7 p.m. Monday.
Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1; Pistons radio affiliates).
Line: Celtics by 11½.
Game notes: The Celtics and the Pistons have one thing in common ahead of their meeting at LCA tonight — both are coming off a loss to the Phoenix Suns. The C’s were scorched by the Suns’ 32-point fourth quarter on Friday in which Phoenix hit five of nine 3-points to turn a one-point lead through three into a 12-point victory. The P’s, however, never even got that close on Saturday night, as Deandre Ayton took full advantage of Detroit’s inability to stop the pick-and-roll.
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The good news for the Pistons: They don’t have to face Ayton and pick-and-roll expert Chris Paul the rest of the season. The bad news: Now they face the Celtics’ dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are averaging 30.9 and 27 points a game, respectively, while making the Eastern Conference All-Star roster. (They might play for their interim coach, Joe Mazzulla, later this month in Salt Lake City, but we won’t find that out until the night of the game.) Boston has plenty of firepower in reserve, too, with Malcolm Brogdon brought in via offseason trade from Indiana to run the second unit; he’s averaging 14.4 points in just 24.8 minutes a game.
The Pistons, meanwhile, are seeing what the young guys can do, as rookies Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren will also head to Utah later this month, albeit as participants in the Rising Stars game, rather than the All-Star Game itself. Ivey is averaging 15.2 points, 4.6 assists and four rebounds a game this season, but has been even better in January: 15.6 points, 5.7 assists and 3.9 boards a game. Duren has three double-doubles in his past seven games, though Saturday’s effort — just one point and six rebounds — was derailed by early foul trouble against Ayton.
After tonight’s game, the Pistons head to Ohio to take on the Cavaliers, who have an All-Star of their own in Donovan Mitchell, at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Celtics, however, head home to start a three-game homestand, opening with a marquee matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons lose to Boston Celtics, 111-99: Game thread replay
