Celtics at Pistons
The Boston Celtics will look to increase their season-best winning streak to nine games when they visit the Detroit Pistons on Saturday. Meanwhile, Detroit will be attempting to snap a season-worst six-game losing streak that includes three double-digit setbacks.
The Pistons were riding high after a victory over the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Dec. 1 but lost their next two games by an average of 25 points to start the ugly skid. "It's not the end of the world, but we've got to have a bad taste in our mouth to create a sense of urgency for a longer period of time," Detroit coach Dwane Casey told reporters after Friday's practice. "It's on us, on me to start with. We're going through one of those times right now and how we bounce out of it is going to be important." Boston racked up 42 first-quarter points and cruised to a 129-108 home win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. "It's fun out there," forward Marcus Morris told reporters after scoring 20 points in the victory. "You can tell from the outside looking in that guys are buying into what's going on. We're just trying to win games, man."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Boston, FS Detroit
ABOUT THE CELTICS (18-10): Boston was 19-of-39 from 3-point range against the Hawks and the offensive production was over 120 points for the sixth time during the eight-game winning streak. "You're always going to run into stretches of the season where it doesn't feel as good but we're certainly capable and I think we feel a lot more comfortable of where our spots are," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said at his postgame press conference. "You can tell they have a good feel for playing together." Small forward Gordon Hayward scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting but was limited to 18 minutes after suffering a cut on his tongue.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (13-13): Detroit had a chance to end its losing streak when it took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday but tallied just 14 fourth-quarter points and lost 108-107. Power forward Blake Griffin recorded 26 points and 10 rebounds against the Hornets for his 13th double-double of the campaign and he is averaging 27.4 points over his past eight appearances. Backup guard Langston Galloway has been up-and-down over the past three games by scoring a season-best 24 against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, one point against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday and then tallying 17 against the Hornets.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Celtics defeated the Pistons twice this season by an average of 11.5 points.
2. Detroit G Reggie Bullock (ankle) is expected to return after a five-game absence.
3. Boston C Al Horford (knee) is slated to miss his fifth straight game.