Pistons rally from 22 down to beat Celtics 121-113

Javonte Green scored 19 points off the bench, and the Detroit Pistons rallied from 22 down in the third quarter to beat the Boston Celtics 121-113 on Tuesday, October 20.

Green made 5 of 8 threes, finished 5-of-10 from the field and went 4-of-4 at the line in 17 minutes. Detroit outscored Boston by 21 points while he played, the best plus-minus on either team.

Boston led 72-50 early in the third quarter. Detroit scored 37 points in that period after managing 18 in the second, then 39 in the fourth, while the Celtics managed 30 and 25.

A 12-0 run midway through the fourth quarter gave the Pistons their first lead of the comeback, 101-99, and they led 112-99 late. Detroit opened its season 1-0, and Boston fell to 0-1.

Payton Pritchard hit a 25-foot three-pointer to cut it to 117-113, but Green made both free throws with 6.7 seconds left for a 119-113 lead. Cade Cunningham added two more with 0.6 seconds left to close the scoring.

Paul George led Boston with 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including 7-of-12 on threes, and five steals. Jayson Tatum had 11 assists and 4 rebounds but shot 6-of-23 and missed all seven of his three-point attempts.

Free throws and rebounding separated the teams. Detroit went 28-of-32 at the line against Boston's 16-of-21 and outrebounded the Celtics 49-39. Ausar Thompson had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Cunningham added 22 points and 8 assists.

Jalen Duren scored 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and Duncan Robinson added 21 with five threes. The benches were close: Boston got 41 points from its reserves, Detroit 39.

Up next

Celtics: host the New York Knicks on Friday, October 23.

Pistons: at the Miami Heat on Friday, October 23.