Celtics guard Payton Pritchard drives against the Pistons' Duncan Robinson in the first quarter.
Celtics guard Payton Pritchard drives against the Pistons' Duncan Robinson in the first quarter.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
When the Celtics were eliminated from the NBA Cup following group play, two games were added to their schedule. They received no favors when they received one more matchup against the Pistons, the best team in the Eastern Conference.
Boston scuffled through another dismal 3-point shooting night and could not slow Pistons superstar Cade Cunningham, who led his team to a 112-105 win.
Jaylen Brown had 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead Boston, and Derrick White scored 14 of his 31 points during the fourth quarter. But the Celtics could never overcome hitting just 1 of 18 3-pointers during the second and third quarters combined. Boston, which started the second half of Thursday’s loss to the Bucks by missing 16 3-pointers in a row, was 10 for 39 overall Monday night.
Cunningham finished with 32 points and 10 assists to lead Detroit, which avenged the 3-point loss it suffered here last month.
The Celtics trailed by 8 early in the fourth, but with 7:12 left White hit a runner as he was fouled by Cunningham and made it 93-90. Just as important, it was the fifth foul for Cunningham, who went to the bench.
But former Celtic Javonte Green gave the Pistons a boost. He hit a 3-pointer and roared in for a loud one-handed dunk after a steal, helping Detroit extend its lead back to 103-93.
Boston made a final push behind White, who hit a 3-pointer and a driving layup to make it 104-102. But after a pair of Tobias Harris free throws, Brown missed two, and Cunningham hit a 17-footer to make it 108-102 with 1:44 left.
The Celtics had a final chance trailing by 5 with 42 seconds to play, but Pritchard’s 3-pointer from the top of the key was an airball.
Two minutes into the opening quarter, Pritchard thought he drew a foul as he double-clutched and fired up a 15-footer. The foul wasn’t called, but the ball swished through the net anyway.
Pritchard thought he drew a foul as he double-clutched and fired up a 15-footer. The foul wasn’t called, but the ball swished through the net anyway.
And maybe that was all he needed to see. Moments later he pulled up for a deep 3-pointer from the right arc, and then hit a contested catch-and-shoot 3. None of the tries even grazed the rim.
After the Pistons pushed to a 19-14 lead, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla called a timeout. The teams returned to the court and Pritchard hit a mid-range jumper that ignited a 14-0 run that was maintained thanks to seven consecutive points by Brown.
At the other end of the floor, the Celtics seemed to confuse the Piston a bit with a zone defense, perhaps because they’ve hardly deployed that tactic this season. Of course, zone defenses always look better when opponents miss open perimeter shots.
Nevertheless, Boston took a 33-25 lead to the second quarter. Derrick White was fouled on a 3-pointer and Jordan Walsh muscled in a 3-point play to stretch the advantage to 39-27. But this time, the Pistons had the counterattack. A steal by Javonte Green that led to a Ron Holland dunk capped a 16-2 Pistons surge that put them back in front, 43-41.
But the Celtics closed the half authoritatively, with a 6-0 burst in the final 59 seconds, and took a 57-53 lead to the break. Brown had 18 first-half points.
Gonzales started the third quarter in place of Walsh, most likely because Walsh had three fouls. But Gonzalez promptly picked up his third and fourth fouls, too. Walsh sat for more than half of the quarter anyway, an unusually long break for that level of foul trouble.
The Pistons started to hit open 3-pointers against Boston’s zone and slice to the rim against the lineups that lacked a center.
And at the other end, Boston’s long-range woes became distressing. The Celtics were just 1 for 10 from long range in the period, dropping them to 1 for 18 over the second and third quarters combined.
Gonzalez checked in for defensive purposes in the final 45 seconds but promptly surrendered a layup to Jaden Ivey and the ball taken away by LeVert, who coasted in for a dunk that helped the Pistons take an 85-81 lead to the fourth.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.