BOSTON — The Celtics and Pistons battled Wednesday, going all the way down to the wire. There were multiple momentum swings throughout the game as neither team could pull away for a big lead. It was a classic game broadcast to the entire nation.
In the end, the Celtics came away with their best win of the year, downing the Pistons 117-114 on Wednesday. Jaylen Brown raved about the TD Garden crowd as they came alive throughout the victory.
“This is the best crowd we had tonight, I mean, the best crowd we had all year,” Brown said. “It was just, you could feel the energy, you could feel them behind it and I love to see it. It feels great.”
The Garden fans buzzed all night for a great game the day before Thanksgiving. Plus, the best team in the East was in town as the Pistons arrived on a 13-game win streak. It was a chance for the Celtics to make up for some other results, like the Nets loss last week where Brown called out his team afterwards.
The Celtics also came to play — and that reflected in the roars from the crowd. The C’s were without Neemias Queta, who’s nursing an ankle sprain. That’s a tough blow considering the Pistons lead the league in points in the paint, plus their physicality on the boards is part of what makes them so successful.
But the Celtics overcame that even though they played small for long stretches Wednesday. They relied on two-way big man Amari Williams, who was getting his first real shot at consequential NBA minutes. C’s coach Joe Mazzulla thought their defensive rebounding was even better at times while going small because everyone knew they needed to crash the boards as hard as possible.
That consistent effort was reflected in the crowd, though it helps shooting 46.5% on 3-pointers. Mazzulla also pointed out a couple high-energy plays that he thought swung momentum for the C’s.
“Baylor (Scheierman) jumps on the floor for a loose ball, Derrick (White) sprints back the full length of the floor and gets the back tip, and the entire energy in the Garden shifts,” Mazzulla said. “And I think the city, the Garden, appreciates — regardless of record or result — they just appreciate that type of mindset, that type of effort. And that’s what we brought."