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Celtics nearly squander lead, hold on to beat Pistons

CSNNE

A. SHERROD BLAKLEY

BOSTON – There’s an old NBA coaching adage about no lead in the NBA is ever really safe.

The Boston Celtics certainly put that to the test on Wednesday, nearly squandering a 24-point lead in the second half before holding on for a 102-95 win.

Marcus Smart, who was 4-for-7 on threes, drained a 3-pointer with less than a minute to play that gave Boston a 100-90 lead but more important, all but sealed the Celtics’ victory.

Boston (29-22) led wire-to-wire, but saw its lead down to single digits (94-86) in the fourth quarter after Marcus Morris made a pair of free throws with 3:27 to play.

Detroit inched a little closer when Aron Baynes made a pair of free throws with 1:59 to play to make it a 97-90 game.

Baynes missed a pair of free throws with 1:28 to play and Boston quickly pushed the ball up court.

Isaiah Thomas, who was in triple-double range late in the game, drove into the lane and lost it out of bounds with 79 seconds to play. He finished with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Detroit called a time-out.

The game being relatively close down the stretch was surprising when you consider how Boston dominated play in the first half which ended with the Celtics ahead 56-36.

Detroit all-star Andre Drummond had a near double-double at the half (11 points, 9 rebounds) before finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The victory was not only important in terms of extending their home winning streak to six straight, but it also evened up the season series at two games apiece which may come in handy in case these two finish with an identical regular season record.

Boston had a strong performance through the first 24 minutes of play, and picked up where it left off by pushing its 20-point lead at the half to 24 points early in the third.

But the Detroit Pistons, big deficit and all, finally began to cut into Boston’s huge lead primarily with the 3-ball and solid defense.

Although Boston bailed out the Detroit defense on a number of possessions with quick shots involving little to know ball movement.

And following a 3-pointer by Morris, Boston’s lead was cut in half (70-58) with more than four minutes still remaining in the third quarter.

Detroit had multiple opportunities to make it a single-digit game, but a driving lay-up by Kelly Olynyk pushed Boston’s lead back to a more comfortable 74-60.

Boston’s defense continued to tighten up in the final minutes of the third which ended with Boston ahead 78-60.
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STUDS AND DUDS: CELTICS DEFENSE SHINES IN WIN OVER PISTONS

WEEI

By Josue Pavon

In a game where the Pistons never held a lead, the Celtics’ interior defense and efficient offense outlast the Pistons in a 102-95 victory at TD Garden on Wednesday.

Celtics jumped out to an 11-4 run to start the game and took a 27-16 lead into the second quarter. They did a stellar job of defending the Pistons’ pick-and-roll between all-star Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson and scored points in the paint by driving to the hoop and converting back-door cut passes into layups.

In the second half, Celtics extended their advantage to 24 points– their biggest lead of the night. They racked up 18 fast-break points, and finished the night with 54 points in the paint. The Pistons went on a 12-3 run to cut the Celtics’ lead to seven — which was the closest Detroit came all night to tying the game. The Pistons resorted to their outside shooting to trim the Celtics lead but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. Isaiah Thomas (17 points) led five Celtics in double-digits, Avery Bradley scored 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting and the Celtics bench combined for 40 points. Reggie Jackson’s 17 points and Andre Drummond’s double-double (16 points, 13 rebounds) led the Pistons.

With the win, the Celtics have won six straight at home and remain tied with the Hawks for third place in the Eastern Conference.

STUD(S) OF THE NIGHT: The bench crew.

Led by Evan Turner (12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), the Celtics bench combined for 54 points and protected the Celtics lead while the starters rested. Turner did a little bit of everything, Marcus Smart provided the outside scoring, he went 4-for-7 from deep and Tyler Zeller’s interior defense was phenomenal. Zeller played great help defense and finished with 3 blocks to go with his 4 points and 5 rebounds.

DUD OF THE NIGHT: No one. For 48 minutes, the Celtics hustled on both ends of the floor and put together one of their better wins of the season. In a game where the Pistons never led, the Celtics kept their composure on offense and on defense they forced the Pistons to take contested jump shots. Every player did their part — Celtics exemplified a well-rounded team that’s beginning to truly find their identity.

VINE OF THE NIGHT: Zeller slams over Anthony Tolliver

WHINE OF THE NIGHT: Putting the lead in jeopardy.

The Pistons were one run away from grabbing a fourth-quarter lead when they sliced their deficit down to seven in the last two minutes of the game.. The Celtics were able to fend off the Pistons late in the fourth, thanks to a huge 3-pointer from Marcus Smart following a timeout called by Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: 54 points in the paint.

The Celtics scored more than half of their total points (102) in the paint and did it in a number of different ways. They executed the pick-and-roll, finished at the hoop on fast-breaks and made the extra passes when they needed to for easy layups. The Pistons had a hard time slowing the Celtics down when the C’s opened up their 24-point lead. Pistons managed to cut the deficit, significantly but never completely erased the Celtics’ 20-plus lead.

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Even without adding any "star" quality players this year's Cs team would be so much better with much improved "consistency". Of course, most "young" teams lack consistency in almost every sport.

Think if guys like Bradley, Sullinger, Smart, Olynyk and others could carry themselves at 75% of their better nights every night? All of these guys still seem to go from 20 points one night to 5 points the next night. So, they have talent but cannot yet find a way to get 15 points every night.

To their (and the coaching staff) credit they are all better than they were last year, and hopefully they will all again be better next season as well. But, to challenge the Cavs our team needs at least two guys who can go out every night with the ability and consistency of getting their 15 every night and not fluctuate so much between the 20 and 5 point nights. Of course, scoring points is not the only stat where "consistency" is needed.

Continuity plus talent, defense, and determination = championships