The Detroit Pistons came out to play on a night the Boston Celtics were content to mail it in, and the Motor City franchise secured itself an unlikely win as a result.
A breakout performance by Pistons rookie Sekou Doumbouya coupled with poor shooting from both Kemba Walker (2-of-11 from deep and 7-of-19 overall) and Marcus Smart (1-of-9 overall and 1-of-4 from three) was simply too much for a lethargic Celtics squad.
Boston allowed the Pistons to shoot 60.3 % from the floor, which, when combined with the poor shooting night from the starting backcourt, kept the contest close until late in the third quarter.
Detroit began the final frame with a 17-5 run that effectively put the game out of reach, and Smart would get himself ejected in the quarter’s final moments contesting a call after getting tangled up with Pistons point guard Derrick Rose.
Brad Stevens asked if he was limiting #Celtics players’ minutes due to tomorrow’s game in Milwaukee:
“I wasn’t trying to rest for tomorrow. I was trying to win tonight. We had a hole at the wing (Tatum) and I was doing my best to try to fill that”
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) January 16, 2020
The Pistons were led by Doumbouya with 24 points, with Rose adding 22 more plus 6 assists.
Andre Drummond logged 13 points and as many boards, while Markieff Morris and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk chipped in 23 and 21 off the bench respectively.
The Celtics saw Gordon Hayward lead the team with 25 points and 7 boards on 11-of-15 shooting, and Jaylen Brown seems to have left behind his own slump after logging 24 points and 12 rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting, but their efficiency wasn’t enough to offset their teammate’s inaccuracy vs. Detroit.
The Boston Celtics next take on the Milwaukee Bucks on the road Thursday, Jan. 16 at 8pm ET.
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