Earlier this week, our very own Colin Ward-Henninger ranked the Boston Celtics number one on his latest CBS Sports NBA Power Rankings. On Friday night, the Celtics backed it up by beating the Detroit Pistons 114–103 to extend their winning streak to five games.
Jason Tatum led his personal scoring streak with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, while Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart combined 42 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. But, as has happened so often in the last few weeks, the Celtics’ defense was the deciding factor.
The brave Pistons, who beat the Celtics just before the All-Star break and won six of their last nine games before Friday’s game, were just two behind at the start of the fourth quarter. At that moment they were shooting 48.5% from the field, and Cade Cunningham created a lot of good images with his game. This success did not extend into the fourth quarter.
As Cunningham sat before the start of the period, the Celtics stepped up the pressure and forced the Pistons to give up three of the Pistons’ first four possessions. Turning them all into layups at the other end, the Celtics quickly built a nine-point lead and never looked back. Even when Cunningham returned to the game, the Pistons were failing. The Celtics’ ability to switch and throw multiple glances at the rookie ended up wearing him down.
Here Brown goes through the screen, so Cunningham tries to hit the paint, but Robert Williams III uses his long arms to clear the ball.
Smart later takes Cunningham to a full court and has him turn his back on the basket. After the screen, Grant Williams switches to Cunningham and is able to knock him out of the way to the ring and force a tough runner who doesn’t go.
These are just a few examples of how the Celtics made life difficult for the Pistons in the fourth round. So much so that the Pistons went nearly the entire quarter without a field goal. It wasn’t until the closing seconds, after the Celtics almost stopped trying, that the Pistons were able to get a few buckets from Saddiq Bey and Luca Garza.
However, the Celtics held the Pistons 2-of-15 from a fourth-quarter field. According to ESPN statistics and information, which was tied with the fewest field goals scored in a quarter by any team that season. Thanks to these stretches, the Celtics have the best defense in the league (defense rating 105.6).
Since beating the Pistons, the Celtics have won five games in a row and 18 of their last 21. Suddenly, they were just percentage points behind the Eastern Conference fourth seed Chicago Bulls and 1 behind the Chicago Bulls. 5 games. Milwaukee Bucks in second place. If they keep defending like they did against the Pistons, they’ll be a big problem in the playoffs.