Tatum, Brown get job done late
Dynamic duo lifts Celtics to weekend split vs. Pistons
DETROIT— Jayson Tatum hit a fallaway as Blake Griffin stumbled with 2.9 seconds left, then tied up the veteran big man on the other end to help the Celtics beat the Pistons 122-120 on Sunday for a weekend split.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 31 points. He hit a late 3-pointer and was 13 of 16 from the field, two nights after his late miss sealed a loss in the opener in Detroit.
“We haven’t been good, especially down the stretch, executing-wise,” said Marcus Smart, who added 17 points and eight assists. “We got to our spots, we got the ball where we wanted it, and those two players made great shots and great reads. They won us the game.”
Tatum had 24 points and 12 assists for the Celtics, who shot a season-best 57%.
“It seems like they made every shot, especially Brown,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “I want to see how many teams do a good job on Jaylen Brown and Tatum. They’re probably two of the most dynamic players I’ve seen in a while.”
Jerami Grant scored 22 points for the Pistons, his career-best fifth straight game with at least 20. Svi Mykhailiuk had 15 points despite not entering the game until under four minutes left in the third quarter.
Semi Ojeleye hit three 3-pointers in less than five minutes to open the fourth quarter for the Celtics. Sekou Doumbouya and Mykhailiuk responded with back-to-back 3s to give the Pistons a 108-106 lead with 6:01 left.
Mykhailiuk scored eight straight Pistons points, and the hosts took a 118-117 lead on Mason Plumlee’s free throws with 42.2 seconds left. That set up Brown’s 3-pointer with 34.0 seconds to go, and Grant made two free throws 12 seconds later to tie it at 120.
On Friday night, the Pistons beat the Celtics 96-93 for their only victory of the season, with the Celtics missing their final 10 shots and going scoreless for the final 4:15.
This was the Celtics’ second pair of consecutive games against the same opponent in the same city this season, and second split of those games. The format is new to the NBA schedule this year. The Celtics also split with the Pacers
The Pistons’ Josh Jackson went down with a right lower-leg injury early in the third quarter when he was fouled on a transition layup. He made the shot and the subsequent free throw, but was taken out of the game and didn’t return.
Griffin, Jackson and Plumlee had 13 points apiece.
Doncic sits with quad issue: Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic sat out Sunday’s road game against the Bulls due to a left quadriceps contusion.
Doncic’s status for Monday’s road game against the Rockets has yet to be determined, coach Rick Carlisle said.
“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Carlisle said. “We don’t think this is a long-term thing, but we’ll just have to see how he feels when he gets up tomorrow and if tomorrow is going to be a possibility or not.”
Doncic, a first-team All-NBA selection last season, has gotten off to a relatively slow start. He’s averaging 24.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game, down significantly from his 2019-20 averages.
Doncic, who’s shooting 43.2% from the floor and 16.1% from 3-point range, has acknowledged that his conditioning needs to improve after he reported to training camp carrying several extra pounds.
Protocol problems for Clippers: Seven members of the LA Clippers’ support staff, including one who tested positive for COVID-19, are in quarantine away from the team, ESPN reported Sunday.
The quarantined group, which traveled in vans from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles over the weekend, includes no players, coaches or team management.
The Clippers traveled to Phoenix to play the Suns on Sunday night.
Contact tracing of the positive test led back to a New Year’s Eve staff gathering with food and drinks in a presidential suite of a Salt Lake City team hotel that included intermittent mask wearing.