The Celtics lost 113-121 in Detroit after leading by 22 in the third quarter, undone by an 18-0 Pistons run that turned a 99-89 lead into a 99-107 deficit inside three minutes of the fourth. Paul George scored 38 on 12-21 shooting; Jayson Tatum went 6-23 and missed all seven of his threes.
The game was won in the second quarter and lost in the fourth, and the second did not count.
Boston held Detroit to 18 points in the second quarter, ran off 15 straight to go from 35-39 down to 50-41 up, and took a 58-45 lead to the half. A 9-0 burst early in the third pushed it to 72-52, the 22-point peak. From there the Pistons outscored the Celtics 37-30 in the third and 39-25 in the fourth. Sixteen lead changes and eight ties say the margin was never as safe as the halftime score read. The decisive stretch began at 99-89 with eight minutes left. Mazzulla called time at 99-95 after a 6-0 run, then again at 99-107 after the run had reached 18-0. Boston did not score between the 8:00 mark and the 3:18 mark. A team that finished 60-22 last season does not need more than that.
Detroit's bench shooter did what Boston's starters could not.
Duncan Robinson scored 15 of his 21 in the fourth quarter and finished 5-9 from three. Javonte Green, a reserve, hit 5-8 from deep for 19 points in 18 minutes and posted a plus-21, the best mark on either side. Boston's starters scored 72 and its bench 41, but the plus-minus column tells the real story: George at plus-9 and Neemias Queta at plus-7 in 22 minutes were the only rotation players comfortably on the right side. Hugo Gonzalez was minus-15 in 10 minutes. Payton Pritchard and Baylor Scheierman were each minus-10. The closing five of Scheierman, White, Tatum, Queta and George was on the floor when the lead turned into a deficit.
George earns the only high grade, and Tatum's line is the one to sit with.
George: A. Twelve of 21 from the floor, 7-12 from three, 7-8 at the line, five steals and a plus-9 in 31 minutes. He was the best player in the building and it was not close. Tatum: D. Eleven assists and only two turnovers are real, but 6-23 from the field and 0-7 from three in 38 minutes is a line Boston cannot carry from its highest-paid player. Derrick White: C. Seventeen points and eight assists against four turnovers, and the foul on Green at 113-117 with six seconds left ended whatever chance Pritchard's three had opened. Pritchard's 7-8 at the line and the late triple keep him at a C-plus despite the minus-10.
Nothing is decided at 0-1, but the schedule gives Boston three days to think about it.
The Celtics sit 0-1 with 81 to play, three days of rest before the Knicks come to Boston on Thursday on Prime Video, then the Bulls, the Nets and the Bulls again in the Cup. Detroit matched Boston's net rating last season, so this was never a soft opener. What the loss does not prove is that the George-for-Brown swap failed. What it does show is that one 18-0 run against a top-tier opponent erased a 22-point cushion, and the possessions that produced it belonged to the group Mazzulla chose to close with.
How did the Celtics lose to the Pistons after leading by 22?
Detroit went on an 18-0 run in the fourth quarter, turning a 99-89 Boston lead into a 99-107 deficit, and outscored the Celtics 39-25 in the period.
How did Paul George play in his Celtics debut?
George scored 38 points on 12-21 shooting with 7-12 from three and five steals, and his plus-9 was the best on the team.
