Celtics first-half lead evaporates in loss to Detroit

The Boston Celtics caught the Detroit Pistons sleeping in a mid-afternoon matchup on Sunday, building a 17-point lead in the first half. But the Pistons woke up, scoring 36 second quarter points to pull level with Boston and they never looked back. 

Detroit went on to dominate the final 24 minutes, handing Boston its third-straight loss to open the regular season, 119-113.

Jaylen Brown’s 41 points weren’t enough to carry the Celtics to their first win, as Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren combined for 49 points in the winning effort. Detroit feasted on the glass, grabbing 54 boards compared to Boston’s 52.

Boston opened Sunday’s game strong, running out to a quick 17-point lead thanks in large part to Brown. The four-time All Star connected on his first four three-point attempts to give the Celtics offense some life it hadn’t truly shown up until this point.

The Celtics also started the game well on defense, and it's no coincidence that it saw a boost on that end of the floor as Hugo Gonzalez received his first career start. Gonzalez is the second-youngest player ever to start a game for Boston. The first? Jayson Tatum. 

Gonzalez and Derrick White both showed quick hands in the opening stages of the game, grabbing four steals as well as a block from the Real Madrid product. 

The 17-point deficit must’ve been the wake-up call Detroit needed, as the Pistons slowly began chipping away at the lead throughout the second quarter. Detroit gashed the Boston defense in the second frame, putting up 36 points and dominating the glass. 

The Pistons ended the half on a 17-4 run to take their first lead of the game, and a lot of that run was created off the three ball. Tobias Harris, Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson all generated points beyond-the-arc to get in front. 

Boston didn’t do itself any favors either, as White and Payton Pritchard both continued to struggle shooting the ball, combining for a 1-for-8 performance from three. 

Despite Brown’s strong day of scoring, no amount of offense was going to make up for the Celtics porous defense. The Pistons followed up their second quarter onslaught with a just as effective 34-point third quarter effort. 

Duren took complete advantage of the Celtics' undermanned frontcourt and went to work all night, putting up 24 points and 17 rebounds. He also connected on a career-high 13 free throws. 

The biggest issues that plagued Boston were along the margins, most notably with its rebounding and on the line. 

Detroit lived at the free throw line as it extended its fourth quarter lead to 13. It finished the game 32-for-36 from the charity stripe. 

The Celtics did show some life midway through the fourth as Josh Minott provided a much-needed boost off the bench. In a momentum swinging sequence, the 22-year-old drained a triple, got a steal on one end and converted an and-one layup at the other to cut the deficit to just seven. 

Brown and White took that momentum from Minott and continued to press Detroit as they added nine more fourth-quarter points to cut the deficit to just three. But once again the boards continued to haunt Boston as Duren hauled in another offensive rebound to push the lead back to multiple possessions. 

Detroit finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds and 30 second-chance points. 

The Celtics will look to avoid an 0-4 start when they travel to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday at 8 p.m. EST.