Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives on Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Detroit, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
DETROIT — Jaylen Brown scored 33 points and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics won their eighth straight game, beating the short-handed Detroit Pistons 129-102 on Friday night.
“It’s an honor to coach Jaylen when is playing like this,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He’s processing every possession on both ends of the floor and he’s getting the shots he wants, both for himself and his teammates. He’s playing very well-rounded basketball and it has been fun to watch.”
Boston improved to 56-15 — an .800 winning percentage. Detroit is tied with Washington at the bottom of the league at 12-58 — 44 games behind the Celtics.
Jaylen Brown dropped 33 PTS to lead the charge in the Celtics' 8th win in a row! ☘️ pic.twitter.com/LJB7Ro4sFe
— NBA (@NBA) March 23, 2024
Peyton Pritchard added 20 points, and Derrick White had 19 points and 11 assists. Jayson Tatum sat out against Detroit to rest an ankle for the second time in five days, also missing a 119-94 home victory Monday night.
Brown was 13 of 19 from the floor, including 10 of 11 on 2-point shots.
“I just wanted to be aggressive, because we had some guys out,” he said. ”When (Tatum) isn’t out there, I know I have to play a little bit faster.”
The Celtics were starting a season-long six-game road trip.
“It’s the same challenge you have on any trip – continuing to play at a high level and keep the main things as the main things,” Mazzulla said.
James Wiseman had a season-high 24 points for Detroit, and Jaden Ivey had 16. The Pistons have dropped nine straight against Boston.
“The stats and stuff really don’t matter to me, because I want to win,” said Wiseman, who started for the first time this season. “We’ve had a lot of peaks and valleys this season, but there are still things we can get better at down the stretch.”
The Pistons were missing their top five post players in Jalen Duren (back), Stanley Umude (ankle), Simone Fontecchio (toe), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness). That left them with a starting backcourt of Tosan Evboumwan, Troy Brown Jr. and Wiseman.
“I can’t ever use (talent level) as an excuse,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “We showed in the first quarter and a little in the third that we could compete. We just had two tough quarters – 19 in the second and 19 in the fourth.”
Tied at 43 in the second period, Boston took over in a stretch that included parts of the second and third quarters. The Celtics had a 47-21 run to take a 90-64 lead with 6:10 left in the third.
Brown finished with 17 points in the third to help Boston take a 104-83 lead. Mazzulla emptied the bench in the fourth.
NEXT SCHEDULE
Celtics: At Chicago on Saturday night.
Pistons: Host New Orleans on Sunday.