Detroit Pistons upset Boston Celtics with 103-83 victory at home – NBA Recap
The Detroit Pistons won only their second game of the season when they defeated the mighty Boston Celtics on Sunday night for one of the biggest upsets of the season so far. The Celtics travelled to the Palace of Auburn Hills, and played rather poorly as they scored under 20 points in both the second and the third periods. The Pistons took advantage and came out with a confidence building victory to improve to 2-9 for the season. Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 20 points and 13 rebounds, going 8 of 11 from the field. Jason Maxiell added 15 points and 6 rebounds, going 5 of 10 from the field. Jared Sullinger led the Celtics on scoring on an off night for the team core, finishing with 16 points and 5 rebounds.
Boston started the game well, going on an early 8-4 run to open the game. Brandon Bass then made a jump shot to put the Celtics up 12-8, and Paul Pierce followed with a three point shot to give the Celtics a 15-9 lead. Detroit came back with consecutive layups by Kyle Singler and Rodney Stuckey, but a three pointer by Rajon Rondo had the Celtics leading 20-15 once again. A dunk by Chris Wilcox later in the game had the Celtics leading 24-17, but Corey Maggette finished the period with a three pointer to put the Pistons within two.
The Pistons took a 27-25 lead early in the second period with a layup by Andre Drummond. A hook shot by Jeff Green then tied the game at 34. The Pistons came back with six straight points to lead 40-36. Another 6-0 run near the end of the period had the Pistons leading 48-40, but Rondo scored a three in the final seconds of the half to have the Celtics trailing 43-48 at halftime.
Detroit started the third period where they left off in the first half and got straight to work on the Celtics defence, going on a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 54-45. A free throw by Brandon Knight had the Pistons up 59-49. The Celtics seemed lost on offence in the third period, but were particularly sluggish in the final four minutes of the period. They managed only four points, missed 6 field goal attempts and committed 3 turnovers. The Pistons capitalized, going on an 8-4 run to close the period and extending their lead to 71-57.
A three pointer by Will Bynum early in the final period had the Pistons leading 79-63, and another three pointer by Knight later in the period put the Pistons up 92-73. The Celtics got some rhythm into their offence but they were unable to cut into the lead Detroit had built by that time. Singler nailed a three pointer as the final field goal in the game for the Pistons, and Detroit comfortably won 103-83.
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