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    Jayson Tatum scores 37 points as Celtics defeat Pistons
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    Jayson Tatum scores 37 points as Celtics defeat Pistons

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    8 minutes, 14 seconds Read

    Celtics

    The Celtics have proven once again that they are capable of righting the ship when the sea gets rocky.

    Jayson Tatum scores 37 points as Celtics defeat Pistons

    Jayson Tatum had a great first half for the Celtics on Saturday. Mike Mulholland/Getty Images

    The Celtics got their first real test of the season from an unexpected source as the Pistons gave them everything they could, but key plays from several starters helped the defending champions remain undefeated with a 122-116 win.

    Here are the snack bars.

    1. The Celtics appeared to be on track for another loss early on after Jayson Tatum had a strong first-half performance. The Pistons seemed to have no answer to the Celtics' unique ability to beat defenders and force help, which ignited their heavy 3-point attack. The lead increased to 24 points in the first half.

    But the Pistons, who were one of the worst teams in NBA history last year, have been much more competitive early this season. Jaden Ivey kept the Celtics in trouble in transition, and by the time the first half ended the lead had dropped from 24 points to 11.

    The Pistons kept hitting and the Celtics went ice cold in the third period. Behind Ivey and Cade Cunningham (who earns his no-quests-asked No. 1 pick status in 2021), the Pistons appeared to completely erase their deficit and even extend their lead to six in the fourth quarter.

    But the Celtics are champions for a reason, and they know how to pull games out of nowhere. Tatum came back to life as the game progressed, and both Derrick White and Jrue Holiday made big plays that secured the Celtics' perfect start.

    The Pistons may not win many games this year (and in fact, with some lottery luck, another losing season could greatly help the rebuilding process), but they are a fun, competitive young group with true NBA role players under contract.

    Meanwhile, the Celtics have proven once again that they are capable of righting the ship when the sea gets rockier.

    2. That's why it felt very notable that in the second half – when the Pistons rallied, tied the game and took the lead – Joe Mazzulla reverted to the strategy of not calling a timeout and letting his team put its problems on the to have the pitch cleared, which used to drive fans crazy.

    A pretty safe guess is that Mazzulla relished the opportunity to see his team overcome adversity after two easy wins to start the season.

    3. Tatum continued his great start, scoring 37 points on 26 shooting (6 of 13 from three), four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

    Tatum began punishing the Pistons when they swapped Jalen Duren on him, much like he injured the Wizards' Alex Sarr on Thursday, and as the Pistons began to adjust, he began getting to the rim and shooting score. Tatum scored 17 points in the first quarter and 22 in the first half, and when the Pistons began to defend him differently, he broke away from the ball and sparked the Celtics' ball movement. He scored eight points in the final 2:13 of the fourth quarter, helping to win the game.

    Three games into the season, Tatum appears to have moved up a few spots on the list of the best players in the world, and those aren't easy spots for him to climb to his lofty position. Of course, there are 79 more games in the regular season, but his first few contests were eye-opening.

    4. Jaylen Brown had a brutal 6-for-24 shooting performance that included several very upbeat attempts early in the fourth quarter as the Celtics tried to break the Pistons' momentum. One of the most egregious shots came after eight minutes, when Brown (who already had 6:22 at that point) ignored a wide-open Payton Pritchard in the corner and opted for a three-pointer instead.

    But Brown contributed in several other ways – he finished the game with 24 points thanks to a 9-for-10 performance at the free throw line (including two big points with under 10 seconds left), he pulled down ten boards while frequently outboxed guys like Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, and he recorded a team-high five assists.

    5. Jrue Holiday waited until the fourth quarter to make his first field goal, but he chose a crucial moment to come alive – with the Celtics trailing by six with just 3:32 remaining, Holiday hit back-to-back three-pointers to equalize The game brought the offense back just enough to secure the narrow victory.

    6. Derrick White, meanwhile, recorded one of the worst blocks we've ever seen from him at a crucial moment. The Pistons ran a really nice set to a strong Cade Cunningham, who appeared to have beaten Holiday after rolling around a screen, but White read the play perfectly and rejected what looked like two points.

    After the block, White could be seen on the bench yelling that he “got that damn hit.”

    “He attacked me at the start of the game, so I felt like I had to get revenge for that,” White told reporters afterwards.

    Tatum sat to White's right and asked him what he said.

    “'I did,'” White said, smiling.

    “What did you really say?” Tatum asked pointedly.

    “Something like that,” White replied.

    Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston asked if White said something more colorful.

    “That doesn’t sound like me,” White joked.

    White added that he didn't have a block all season.

    “I have to work my way back,” he said. “One per game.”

    7. The Pistons opened the fourth quarter with a bizarre moment that played out for the rest of the game, prompting a call that sent Derrick White to the ground. The referees reviewed the play and concluded that they had indeed made a mistake… but that Cade Cunningham had committed a foul, meaning the Celtics could still get free throws out of the situation.

    The Pistons failed to maintain their challenge and timeout, even though they were technically right that the referee misread the call. That hit them several times – once when an obviously incorrect out-of-bounds call ended the Celtics midway through the fourth quarter, and later in the period when they desperately needed a timeout to stop the clock and get back to the game They tried to stay up late into the night.

    8. The Celtics started the game 15-for-27 (56 percent) from 3-point range and then went 7-for-21 the rest of the game, posting a very healthy (but more reasonable) rate of 45.8 percent scored behind the arc. No team in the NBA shoots better 3-pointers, but Saturday gave us a bit of a reminder that even the best teams can be hot and cold, and the most important thing is that the numbers are efficient when they get back to their level to reach.

    9. Four Celtics players scored the first 67 points for the Celtics: Tatum, Brown, Al Horford and Payton Pritchard.

    Pritchard finished the game with 19 points in 19 minutes, going 5-7 from deep.

    Horford, meanwhile, rebounded from a relatively slow start to the season and finished 6 of 10 and 5 of 8 from behind the arc for 17 points.

    10. The Celtics should be tested again on Monday when they return to TD Garden to take on the Bucks at 7:30 p.m. They face the Pacers on Wednesday in Indianapolis.

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