The Boston Celtics (23-5) have clinched a contested 91:81 away win at the Detroit Pistons (14-12). The decisive factor was an excellent defence against Andre Drummond, who didn’t make it into the match at all.
Guests from Boston got off to a better start, especially Kyrie Irving and Al Horford were early in the rhythm. On the other hand, Avery Bradley kept his colours in the game – which was a bitter necessity, as Andre Drummond was completely deregistered by a strong Celtics defence. He was still 0 points (0/2 FG) for the break, which was one of the reasons why his team was trailing 37:44 after two quarters.
The second half started with a 10-0 run of Celtics. At that point, it looked as though they could easily win away, but the pistons fought back from a 17-point gap. Led by Tobias Harris, they were back in the game at least 4 minutes before the end (75:79) and on their way to tip the game completely. But the Celtics kept their nerves intact – so Al Horford silenced the crowd with an ice-cold threesome. A short time later Jayson Tatum also showed his nerve strength and hit the next triple 87:79 – that was the Dagger.
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The pistons now have six consecutive defeats on the account and have therefore fallen into a crisis. The decisive factor was a bad throwing rate of 33 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-line. Only Tobias Harris (19 points) and Anthony Tolliver (15) were halfway in shape. On the other hand, Al Horford was top scorer with 18 points (8 rebounds and 6 assists), Kyrie Irving remained inconspicuous for his circumstances (16 points, 4/12 FG). Daniel Theis stood 12 minutes on the floor and used it for 2 points, 2 rebounds, a steal and a block.
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Al Horford. Especially from downtown, he didn’t get his best night. Nevertheless, he underlined his value by calmly structuring the Celtics game and making the right decisions. Especially for Irving it is a relief when Horford delivers such a top-class playmaker (6 assists). He also hit a very important threesome 2 minutes before the end.
Reggie Jackson. Like Drummond, he wasn’t a factor on the offensive at all. He was annoyed by Celtics’ intense on-ball defense and made many hectic decisions. He had no answer to his opponent’s blocking his favorite pass option on Drummond. In the end he came out on top with 2 points and 0/9 goals!
26 points and 22 rebounds – that was Andre Drummond’s last encounter with Celtics two weeks ago when the pistons won by 10 points. But this time Brad Stevens had his boys much better adjusted to him. Aron Baynes played a special role and worked hard on Drummond all the time. Usually the Australian only plays 17 minutes on average, this time there were 28. In pick-and-roll, the motto was to allow a floater or middistance throw by the ball handler rather than praise Drummond, who never found his way into the game. If Baynes needed help, a third defender prevented the pass to the Big Man. Kickouts on the shooters were accepted – and that was successful. Detroit only hit 30 percent of downtown, Drummond finished the game with a meager 6 points (1/5 FG) and 15 rebounds.