Three bolts, three duds after Celtics beat Pistons in nailbiter

It didn't take long for the Boston Celtics to face adversity for the first time as reigning champions, but it was a surprise to see them prevail in a 124-118 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesar's Arena in the Motor City on Saturday night .

The Pistons gave the Celtics a tiring run for their money from start to finish, making the final minutes of the final frame a must-watch stretch in basketball. Boston didn't perform in the same manner as it did earlier in the year against the New York Knicks or Washington Wizards, but by embracing the uncomfortable – a key part of head coach Joe Mazzulla's open-minded philosophy – Boston is coming up with its first nail biter yet without prejudice to it.

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Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics' third straight win:

PIECES
Jayson Tatum
The revenge tour continued for Tatum, only this time the 26-year-old had to play in the fourth quarter. Tatum finished the game with 37 points on 12 of 26 shooting with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 38 minutes. He knocked down 6 of 13 attempts from 3-point territory and is now up to 99 points through three games, further strengthening the case for a (very) early MVP candidacy.

Boston's lead in the first quarter
The Celtics weren't just good at the beginning of their first three seasons; historical Good.

With a three-on-three shooting performance, Boston scored 42 points in the first quarter in Detroit to increase the team's total to 118 points in the first three first quarters this season, setting an NBA record. The Celtics shot 12 for 22, including 8 for 14 from 3-point range, to put early pressure on the Pistons, who finished with the worst record (14-68) in the NBA last season. The previous record – 114 points – was set by the Golden State Warriors in 1991-92.

Payton Pritchard
It must have been the rowdy, undersized security guard eager to score in Detroit because it didn't take long for Pritchard to cause problems for the Pistons off the bench – at all. Pritchard scored 16 points in his first eight minutes off the bench before finishing the night with 19 points and five 3-pointers in 19 minutes. Pritchard also had two rebounds and a steal.

Honorable Mention: Xavier Tillman
The Grand Rapids, Mich., Michigan State native came off the bench in front of his hometown crowd with three points, three rebounds, one assist and two steals. Tillman's only basket, a three-pointer, gave Boston a 91-88 lead in the third quarter.

Idiots
Jrue holiday
Once again Holiday had a lot of trouble getting on offense.

Holiday scored just seven – admittedly – points in 33 minutes, but his first basket didn't come until the fourth quarter. He tallied four assists and one rebound to make up for the lack of offensive contributions, but also committed a team-high three turnovers, giving the 34-year-old a modest average of 10.6 points to start the year.

Boston's Domestic Offense
Expecting the Celtics to make 48% of three-pointers while chasing the all-time record for three-pointers per night is an unrealistic expectation. Therefore, it is important to create versatility in scoring when the three-pointer is not falling.

For the first time ever, Boston has struggled to do just that. The Celtics (and 45.8%) outscored the Pistons (35.9%) from distance, but the margin wasn't enough to keep Detroit at bay in the third quarter as Boston became increasingly difficult with each possession, to score a goal. Detroit's 16-3 run with 3:50 left to make it 86-86 prompted Mazzulla to call a much-needed timeout with 2:45 minutes left in the game. A major cause of the reduced lead? Boston's 22 points in the game versus Detroit's 50 points early in the fourth quarter.

Still, it's far too early to call anything worrisome, especially without Kristaps Porzingis.

Cade Cunningham
Detroit can always rely on Cunningham to lead the way, as the 23-year-old dropped a whopping 21 points against the Celtics, but ball security was a glaring problem. Cunningham committed a game-high seven turnovers, tying the guard's fourth-year career high of nine (recorded in 2022). It also proved costly as Boston increased its defensive pressure and Celtics guard Derrick White unleashed the threat within him to fend off Detroit's desperate last-second attempt.