The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Celtics avenge a loss
DETROIT — The Boston Celtics prevented former UConn standout Andre Drummond from scoring in the paint and quieted Reggie Jackson on the perimeter.
That helped Boston get revenge from a rare loss in a 91-81 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
When Detroit beat the Celtics last month, Drummond scored 26 points and Jackson had 20. In the rematch, Drummond didn’t make a shot until late in the game and finished with just six points on 1-of-5 shooting while Jackson was 0 for 9 with two points.
“We were locked in,” Boston center Aron Baynes said. “Our offense wasn’t as crisp as we wanted it to be, but defensively we had a game plan and we stuck with it. We were trying to pack the paint and make them make plays from the outside. Last time, they really had whatever they wanted inside the paint.”
The Eastern Conferenceleading Celtics bounced back from a loss Friday night at San Antonio, extending their feat of losing consecutive games only once this season.
“We responded not only to that loss at home (to Detroit), but also to the tough Spurs loss,” said Boston’s Kyrie Irving, who scored 16 points. “We want to continue to build character and identity for our team and be responsive with a quick turnaround.”
Al Horford had 18 points, Jaylen Brown scored 12, reserve Marcus Smart also had 12 points and smooth-shooting rookie Jayson Tatum scored 11 for the Celtics. Tatum made a 3-pointer late to help hold off a potential comeback by the Pistons, putting Boston ahead by eight points with 1:55 left.
Boston shut down the Pistons’ offense after giving up a season-high 118 points on 52 percent shooting in the loss to them. On Sunday, the Celtics held Detroit to a season low in points and forced it to miss twothirds of its shots.
Baynes kept a hand, arm or shoulder on Drummond while defending him, keeping him out of the lane as much as possible.
KNICKS 111, HAWKS 107
NEW YORK — Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, Doug McDermott added 23 off the bench and the New York Knicks withstood a late push from the Atlanta Hawks for a 111-107 victory Sunday night.
One night after losing to the NBA-worst Chicago Bulls on the road, New York managed to hold off a fourth-quarter rally by the Hawks, who have the second-worst record in the league.
The Knicks appeared to have the game put away after three straight points from Jarrett Jack and Porzingis gave them a 101-92 lead with 3:46 left.
The Hawks then scored five consecutive points, including three free throws from Marco Belinelli to make it 103-100 with 1:40 remaining. Porzingis answered with a quick basket at the other end to extend the Knicks’ lead 105-100 before Ersan Ilyasova’s layup drew Atlanta within three with 1:18 to play.