Pistons Fade Down The Stretch, Fall In Boston
The Pistons were able to get a big and, at the time highly unlikely win, over the Celtics before the All-Star break and tried hard to get another upset tonight, but it was not to be. The Celtics ended up winning 114-103, but it was closer than that for much of the night.
Detroit was up by one at the half and down just two to begin the fourth quarter, but there was a lid on the basket for the Pistons in the final stanza. Somehow, Detroit went just 1-for-15 from the floor in the fourth. All but 11 of Detroit's points in the final quarter came from the free throw line as Saddiq Bey scored the lone bucket with a little over a minute remaining in the game.
Speaking of Bey, he did not have his best night tonight in Boston. The long-range sniper didn't necessarily shoot it poorly, he just didn't shoot it. The second-year man went just 3-for-7, which included just 1-for-4 from downtown. He contributed just nine points in over 40 minutes of action.
Cade Cunningham, on the other hand, was spectacular, even in the loss. Detroit's super rookie finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He went toe to toe with Jayson Tatum (31 points, eight rebounds, six assists), but he obviously cooled off in the fourth quarter along with the rest of the Pistons. Jerami Grant and Marvin Bagley III chipped in 20 apiece, while Cory Joseph scored just seven. The Pistons were without several key bench players tonight and that also hurt their ability to keep pace with Boston at times. The Pistons also had 14 turnovers, including a few bad ones at inopportune times.
All in all, it was a pretty well-played game by Detroit, but they made a few more mistakes than Boston at the wrong times. Boston is obviously one of the more talented teams in the league, at least on the wing with Tatum and Jaylen Brown both capable of 40+ on any given night, so chalk this one up as another moral victory in an all but lost season.
Detroit will be back on the court Sunday when they host the Los Angeles Clippers.
