A comeback for the record books
Detroit beat Boston 121-113 on Tuesday in the first game of an opening-day tripleheader, turning a lopsided contest into a statement between two sides expected to fight for Eastern Conference supremacy. The Pistons had trailed 72-50 with 8:32 left in the third quarter and were still down 99-89 with 8:19 remaining in the fourth before outscoring the Celtics 23-0 across roughly five minutes to grab a 112-99 advantage with 3:33 to play. According to the NBA, the 22-point turnaround stands as the biggest comeback on a season's opening day since 1997-98.[S1][S2][S3][S4]
Jalen Duren posted 22 points and nine rebounds, Cade Cunningham matched him with 22 points and eight assists, and Duncan Robinson added 21 as Detroit nearly placed a fourth player at the 20-point mark. Duren, who sat out the first week of training camp while negotiating a new contract and appeared in two preseason games, scored 13 before halftime, and three of his rebounds came at the offensive end, where the Pistons held a 24-16 edge in second-chance points. Cunningham supplied 14 after the break, eight of them in the final quarter.[S1]
Bench shooting flips the game
Javonte Green and Robinson each connected on five 3-pointers and drove Detroit's recovery. Green did not appear in the first half, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff sent him in with 7:26 left in the third quarter and the Pistons down 74-53; after missing his first attempt from deep, Green poured in 11 of his 19 points within two minutes on three 3-pointers and two free throws. Robinson took over in the fourth with 15 points, nine of them from beyond the arc, and went 6-for-8 at the line while drawing two Boston fouls on 3-point tries.[S1]
Bickerstaff said the team trusts everyone on the roster and can call on any player depending on what the moment requires, adding that Green delivers that lift repeatedly. He noted Green's shot-making, defensive work and energy, and observed that Green could have sulked after sitting out the first half but that such behavior does not fit the group or the player's character.[S1]
George shines, Tatum struggles
Paul George's Boston debut produced a game-high 38 points, the most ever by a Celtic in a first appearance, surpassing Kristaps Porziņģis's 30 in 2023. The nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection had 17 points before halftime and 14 in the third quarter, including three straight Boston 3s that built the 72-50 cushion, and finished 12-for-21 from the floor and 7-for-12 from deep. Much of the pregame attention had centered on Boston sending Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia.[S1][S5]
Jayson Tatum managed only 13 points on 6-for-23 shooting, missing all seven of his 3-point attempts, and scored two points on 1-for-10 shooting after halftime while handing out a game-high 11 assists. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he wants Tatum to keep making the correct play and to shoot when open regardless of the misses, and he judged that Tatum balanced scoring and playmaking well while needing slightly better execution. Bickerstaff credited Ausar Thompson's defense, saying any player matched against him one-on-one faces a long night.[S1]
