Jayson Tatum scores 34, Celtics cruise past Pistons 111-99
DETROIT (AP)—Jayson Tatumstarted slow and finished strong with 34points, 11 rebounds and six assists, leading theBostonCelticsto a 111-99 victory over theDetroitPistonson Monday night.
“You know atsome point, he’s going to be a superstar,” Pistons coach DwaneCasey said.
The All-Starforward missed his first five shots and had as many fouls (three)as field goals after missing 10 shots in the first half. Tatum madethree 3-pointers and an array of driving layups in the third,scoring 18 points in the quarter to turn a seven-point halftimelead into a 18-point cushion.
“He took whatthe defense gave him,” Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Hegot downhill. He was aggressive. I thought he took some really goodshots early in the shot clock to keep his confidence going.”
With Tatum onthe bench, Detroit rallied to pull within seven points midwaythrough the fourth quarter. Seconds after entering the game, theAll-NBA player promptly set up Robert Williams for a dunk on hisfourth assist to help stunt the potential comeback.
Tatum was 11of 23 overall, 3 of 9 on 3-pointers, and 9 of 10 at the line.
“A guy likethat, you give him any opportunity, he’s going to take it,” Detroitguard Killian Hayes said. “He didn’t make a 3-pointers in the firsthalf, and then he hit one and he’s hard to guard. A guy like that,you can’t let him get going.”
Celtics guardJaylen Brown, who averages 27 points, missed the game with anon-COVID illness. Sam Hauser filled in, making his first start intwo seasons, and had five 3-pointers in the first half when hescored all of his 15 points.
Hauser saidhe was informed of the opportunity about 90 minutes before the gamestarted.
“It kind oftook me by surprise,” he said. “I thought they would maybe plugsomeone else in to start. They called my number and I was ready forit. It was my first start ever in the NBA, and it was a coolmoment.”
Bostonreserves Marcus Smart and Luke Kornet (left ankle) missed the gamewith ankle injuries.
Derrick Whitehad 23 points, and reserve Malcolm Brogdon and Williams scored 15points apiece for the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics, who lostfour of their previous six games.
“For 95% ofthe game, I thought we did a great job of taking away the momentumplays that Detroit is capable of making,” Mazzulla said.
BojanBogdanovic scored 21 for the Pistons, who have won just one-fourthof their games and are likely vying with Houston and Charlotte forthe No. 1 pick and a chance to select7-foot-3 French phenomVictor Wembanyama.
Detroitrookies Jaden Ivey had 14 points and five assists, while JalenDuren scored seven points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Hayes scored 17points and fellow reserve Saddiq Bey added 14 for the Pistons, whohave lost eight of their last 10 games.
BEYOFF THE BENCH
Casey likeswhat he’s seeing with Bey, a former starter, settling into being abackup.
“He’s found arhythm and a niche with the second unit,” Casey said. “Once we areready to play for playoff positioning and championships, I feellike that’s going to be his role with us.”
TIP-INS
Celtics: The24-year-old Tatum is the youngest player in team history to be afour-time All-Star. ... Hauser’s younger brother, Joey, is a seniorforward at Michigan State.
Pistons: TheNBA rescheduled Detroit’s home game against Washington to March 7that was postponed last week when the Pistons were stranded inDallas due to a winter storm.
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