Celtics 99, Pistons 93
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Avery Bradley led a balanced attack with 18 points and the Boston Celtics won their third straight by downing the Detroit Pistons 99-93 on Saturday night at The Palace.
Point guard Isaiah Thomas contributed 17 points and nine assists and reserve shooting guard Evan Turner supplied 13 points, five rebounds and three assists for Boston (17-13). The Celtics' starting frontcourt of Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson and Jae Crowder combined for 33 points and 23 rebounds.
Center Andre Drummond carried the Pistons (17-14) with 22 points and 22 rebounds, his fifth 20-20 game of the season. Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson had 17 points, small forward Marcus Morris added 16 and rookie forward Stanley Jackson chipped in 12.
The teams met at The Palace on Dec. 16 with the Pistons prevailing 119-116 behind shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's career-high 31 points. Caldwell-Pope was held to six points on Saturday and committed five turnovers.
The Celtics used an 8-1 spurt early in the third quarter to turn a six-point advantage into a 68-55 lead. Backup center Kelly Olynyk drained a 3-pointer later in the quarter to nudge the lead to 15 at 74-59.
Boston was still up 15 when the fourth quarter began. Center Tyler Zeller's jumper made it 80-64 before the Pistons reeled off nine straight points. But Detroit couldn't get closer than seven until Johnson hit a jumper with 1:01 left to pull within 93-88.
After a Celtics turnover, Jackson fired in a 3-pointer to get Boston's lead down to 95-93. Ex-Piston forward Jonas Jerebko then responded with a mid-range jumper with 10.7 seconds left to stall Detroit's comeback.
Bradley, Boston's starting shooting guard, scored 15 first-half points as the Celtics led 51-46 at halftime.
NOTES: Celtics PG Marcus Smart, who missed his 18th straight game with a bone bruise on his left knee, could return to action against the New York Knicks on Sunday. "There's a chance he can play tomorrow. but it's not definitive," coach Brad Stevens said. ... The Celtics and Pistons are two of 10 Eastern Conference teams above .500. "The standings change every day," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We've played enough now to say there's a good chance it stays like that throughout most of the rest of the year. There's a lot of parity." ... Bostons PF David Lee was sidelined by back spasms. ... Detroit won six of its last seven home games against the Celtics. ... Pistons SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been dealing with a soft tissue injury in his left leg, according to Van Gundy, but it hasn't kept him out of action.