Jayson Tatum had a game-high 38 points, including 24 in the third quarter Wednesday night as the Boston Celtics rolled by the Detroit Pistons 127-109 at TD Garden in Boston in the final game before the All-Star break.
Boston led from start to finish and was comfortably in control by as many as 18 twice in the second quarter, once on a free throw from Al Horford and the second time on a three-pointer by Malcolm Brogdon. The Celtics were up 66-51 at the halftime break. Tatum would score 24 of his teams 31 points in the third quarter (6-6 three-pointers), but Detroit would score 38 points and at one point closed within 85-80. The hosts would carry a 97-89 advantage headed to the fourth. A six point deficit early in the final period is as close as the Pistons would be from there on out, as the C’s would go on a 26-11 run over the next 8:03 to go up 21 and put it away.
Tatum added nine rebounds and seven assists on 6-10 shooting from three-point range in the win. Brogdon finished with 25 points and six assists, while Horford and Derrick White also got into double figures with 11 points a piece. White had four rebounds and six assists, with Horford also chipping in seven boards. They would hit a collective 21-45 from the three-point arc as a team on the night. Bojan Bogdanovic led six players in double figures in the loss for Detroit (15-44) with 28 points on 12-17 shooting. The Celtics improve their NBA best record to 42-17, one game better than Milwaukee for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston is now off until next Thursday 2/23 when they head out on the road to take on the Indiana Pacers.
Recap by Chris Lessner
