Three Studs, Three Duds As Celtics Make Easy Work Of Pistons

Each game against the Detroit Pistons this seasons seems to get easier for the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics, who beat the Pistons by six and 10 points, respectively, in two previous matchups, made light work of Detroit on Thursday night at TD Garden by cruising to a 123-99 win.

It was an offensive clinic for the Celtics against the lowly Pistons, who own a 10-16 record. The Celtics shot 51.1% from the floor and recorded 34 assists on 46 baskets en route to their 20th win of the campaign. They now have won 12 straight games over Detroit.

Here are three studs and three duds from a lopsided win for the Celtics:

STUDS
Jaylen Brown
Brown could have forced things with Jayson Tatum sidelined — he sat out due to right patella tendinopathy — and made sure he was the star of the show for the Celtics. But Brown did the complete opposite. He let the game come to him and took what the defense gave him to deliver a superb performance. Brown tallied 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists as he watched the fourth quarter from the bench with the lead well in hand. Brown finished a plus-30 in 30 minutes.

Kristaps Porzingis
The 7-foot-2 center was a force on both ends of the floor. He netted 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. The Pistons had a tough time finishing at the rim with Porzingis on the floor as he came away with two blocks.

Payton Pritchard
Pritchard did his usual work from beyond the arc, sinking 7-of-15 3-pointers to fuel a 27-point night. But what might have been even more impressive from the point guard was he facilitating. Pritchard dished out 10 assists to go along with his 3-point barrage. It was his first double-double of the season and fifth of his career.

DUDS
Jaden Ivey
Ivey is a very solid guard for the Pistons — he entered Thursday averaging 17.6 points per game — but he turns into a puddle against the Celtics. He didn’t help his cause Thursday, shooting an inefficient 3-for-14 from the floor to score 10 points. In three games against the Celtics this season, Ivey is a minus-50 on the floor.

Jordan Walsh
The Celtics ask two things of the second-year wing on the offensive end of the floor: stay out of the way and hit an occasional corner 3-pointer. Walsh hasn’t shown the ability to do the latter yet. He missed a couple of triples from the corner in the first half and finished with just two points in 13 minutes. The 20-year-old is shooting just 22.7% from 3-point range on the season.

Pistons outside shooting
The Pistons buried themselves by continuously throwing up brick after brick from beyond the arc. Detroit shot an eye-popping 18.9% from downtown as it hit just 7-of-37 3-pointers. That’s certainly a recipe to get blown out by the Celtics.