NBA: Jayson Tatum, Celtics knock off Pistons
Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics dunks next to Kelly Olynyk #13 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half at Little Caesars Arena on February 04, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. Boston won the game 102-90. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP
Jayson Tatum had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 102-93 road win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
Jaylen Brown had 13 points and seven rebounds and Josh Richardson added 12 points for Boston, which won its fourth straight.
19 points in the third quarter alone for tonight’s @gatorade player of the game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AtZKktJKIy
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 5, 2022
Hamidou Diallo had 21 points and 14 rebounds, Saddiq Bey scored 21 points and Isaiah Stewart had 17 rebounds in defeat for Detroit, which has lost seven of its past eight.
After building a 46-31 lead at halftime, Boston added to Detroit’s deficit in the third, going up 52-33 with 9:13 remaining in the quarter.
Detroit mounted a minor rally, going on a 14-5 run to cut Boston’s lead to 57-47 with 6:26 remaining in the third, but Boston answered with a 9-2 run to take a 66-49 lead with 3:47 left in the quarter.
Boston eventually took a 78-56 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Detroit put a dent into Boston’s advantage, pulling within 96-84 with 1:52 remaining following a 10-0 run.
The Pistons eventually cut Boston’s lead to 100-93 with 20.6 seconds remaining after a 3-pointer by Killian Hayes, but that was as close as the hosts would get.
Detroit was playing without star rookie Cade Cunningham, who sat out the game with a hip pointer.
With Boston nursing a 13-11 lead in the first quarter, the Celtics separated themselves by going on a 15-5 run over the final 6:12 of the quarter to take a 28-16 lead going into the second quarter.
Boston continued to build on its lead in the second quarter, taking a 37-22 lead with 6:31 remaining until halftime.
Detroit couldn’t cut its deficit to single digits the rest of the quarter and the Celtics took a 46-31 lead into the halftime break.
