National Basketball Association
Boston 123, Detroit 99
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 12, 2024
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Officials: #21 Dedric Taylor, #79 John Conley, #15 Zach Zarba
Attendance: 19156

Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score a game-high 27 points and deliver 10 assists, leading the Boston Celtics to a 123-99 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.

Pritchard shot 10 of 20 from the field, including 7 of 15 from 3-point range.

The Celtics received 23 points from Derrick White and 19 from Kristaps Porzingis while beating the Pistons for the 12th consecutive meeting.

Rookie Ronald Holland II scored a career-high 26 points for the Pistons, who shot 7 of 37 (18.9 percent) from 3-point territory. Detroit's Cade Cunningham finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Jaden Ivey, who logged 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting, was the only other Detroit player who reached double figures.

The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum (knee) and Sam Hauser (adductor), two of the team's top shooters. Tatum leads the team in points per game (28.2) rebounds per game (8.9) and assists per game (5.7). Hauser, one of Boston's top reserves, is averaging 8.5 points in 22.2 minutes per contest.

The Pistons didn't have Jalen Duren (wrist). The center is averaging a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game.

Boston ended the first quarter on a 14-2 run and led 27-16 entering the second. Detroit was 0-for-12 from 3-point territory in the opening quarter.

A 10-0 spurt capped by a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer gave Boston a 47-33 lead with 4:19 remaining in the first half, and the Celtics had a 59-44 advantage at halftime.

The Celtics extended their lead to 27 points in the third quarter, when they outscored the Pistons 34-24 to take a 93-68 lead into the final 12 minutes. The Pistons trailed by as many as 32 points in the fourth.

Boston has won all three meetings between the teams this season. The Celtics prevailed 124-118 on Oct. 26 in Detroit, then won 130-120 on Dec. 4 in Boston.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Detroit   Boston
Ronald Holland II 26 Scoring Payton Pritchard 27
Cade Cunningham 8 Assists Payton Pritchard 10
Cade Cunningham 8 Rebounds Jaylen Brown 9
Simone Fontecchio 3 Free Throws Made Drew Peterson 3
Tim Hardaway Jr. 2 Steals Derrick White 2
Cade Cunningham 1 Blocks Kristaps Porzingis 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Detroit 99 42.9 7-37 8-10 27 43 4 8 8
Boston 123 51.1 20-48 11-13 34 51 4 6 14
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Celtics have a W/L % of .737 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Miami. The Pistons have a W/L % of .182 after a win and .533 after a loss.