The Celtics led the Pistons by 22 in the 2nd half. Then the game flipped as the Celtics, very much like they did in the first round last year, collapsed and lost to the Pistons, 121-113. It was a struggle for Jayson Tatum who had just 13 points on 6/23 from the field. Meanwhile, Cade Cunningham’s 22 points and 8 assists won the day for the Pistons.
The Celtics started their preseason starters, Derrick White, Paul George, Jordan Walsh, Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson. Devin Carter missed the game
with mononucleosis. The Pistons started Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, John Collins and Jalen Duren. Tauren Prince (yes, he is on the Pistons now) was the only one out for Detroit.
It was a slow start for the Celtics, who had turnovers on their first 3 possessions. Jayson Tatum scored the first Celtics basket of the season, on an and-1 layup.
Jordan Walsh had a big impact early in the game, he had 4 rebounds (including 2 on the offensive side) in the first 5:46 of the game. However, the Celtics offense was sloppy as a whole, With 6 turnovers in the first quarter.
A Jayson Tatum buzzer beater had the Celtics leading at the end of the first quarter, 28-27. Tatum led the Celtics with 7 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds, playing the whole first quarter. Payton Pritchard had 6 points off of the bench.
The Celtics played 11 players in the first 15 minutes of the game, they are clearly going to limit the Mitchell Robinson and Paul George minutes this year.
The Pistons were winning the turnover and rebounding battle early in the game. That is something that won’t sit well with Joe Mazzulla, who is constantly preaching the shot margins.
The Celtics went on a 15-0 run in the 2nd quarter to take a 50-39 lead in the 2nd quarter.
We had the double big lineup of Mitchell Robinson and Neemias Queta for the last 1:11 of the first half.
Kevin Huerter hit a buzzer beater at the end of the half but he did not get if off in time and the Celtics led 58-45 at the end of the first half. Paul George led the Celtics in scoring with 17 points while Tatum had 11 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
George moved into 8th all time in three point makes in the first half.
Paul George has moved past Kyle Korver into 8th place on the NBA’s all-time 3-point makes list with the 2,451st make of his career.
— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) October 20, 2026
George took over in the third quarter with 11 points in the first 4 minutes. He had 31 points midway in the third quarter, the most for any player in a Celtics debut.
Paul George has set the Celtics’ franchise record for most points in a debut performance. He has 31 points through the midway mark of the third quarter.
— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) October 20, 2026
After the Celtics took a 22 point lead, the Pistons went on a 19-6 run to cut Boston’s lead to 9. Former Celtic Javonte Green hit the big three pointer.
The game really flipped on the Celtics, all the sudden the Pistons were making all their threes and the Celtics couldn’t make a shot. Jayson Tatum had a missed layup and a pass thrown into the 2nd row in back to back possessions.
The Celtics led by 6 at the end of the 3rd quarter. George led the team with 31 points while Tatum had 11 points and 1o assists, while being held score less in the third quarter.
The Celtics got off to a good start in the 4th quarter, extending the lead to 12, 96-84.
After the Celtics took a 10 point lead, Duncan Robinson hit back to back threes to cut the lead to 4 with 7:34 left as Joe Mazzulla called a timeout.
The Pistons continued it out of the timeout as the Celtics collapse continued. An 18-0 run put the Pistons up by 8 107-99, with 5:10 remaining in the game.
A devastating collapse from the Celtics as the Pistons took a 13 point lead before a Derrick White layup ended a 23-0 run.
The Celtics cut the lead to 4 but a big Ausar Thompson shot put the Pistons back up 6 with 41 seconds to go in the game. Tatum then took a mid range shot that he missed and Duncan Robinson put the Pistons up 7 with 18 seconds to go.
The Celtics lost the game, 121-113. Paul George led the team with 38 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. The Pistons were led by Javonte Green’s 19 points and Duncan Robinson’s 21 points.
The Celtics shot 46% from the field and 41% from three while the Pistons shot 43% from the field and 38% from three. The Celtics home opener is Friday at 7pm/EST on Prime Video against the defending champion New York Knicks.
