Jaylen Brown poured in 33 points and the visiting Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to eight games with a 129-102 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
Payton Pritchard had 20 points and nine assists for the Celtics (56-14), who are closing in on clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Derrick White had 19 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds and Kristaps Porzingis also tossed in 19 points.
Sam Hauser added 14 points. Boston’s leading scorer and rebounder, Jayson Tatum, sat out due to a right ankle injury.
This was the Celtics’ second romp over the Pistons in five nights. They also recorded a 119-94 home win on Monday, another game that Tatum missed.
James Wiseman led the Pistons (12-58), who have lost five straight, with 24 points and nine rebounds. Jaden Ivey had 16 points and Cade Cunningham contributed 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Pistons ruled three players out for the season (Ausar Thompson (blood cut), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Stanley Umude (right ankle fracture) in recent days and starting center Jalen Duren was a late scratch due to back spasms.
Wiseman, Duren’s replacement in the starting lineup, had 12 points and five rebounds in the first quarter as the Pistons took a 34-32 lead.
The Pistons had a 46-45 lead with eight minutes left in the half. Then they went scoreless for nearly five minutes while Boston went on a 10-0 run. Brown scored the last two of those baskets.
The Celtics also finished the half with a 9-2 spurt for a 69-53 lead. Pritchard had a 3-pointer and an assist during that span and finished the half with 16 points and seven assists.
Pritchard’s layup nearly two minutes into the second half extended Boston’s advantage to 76-55. Porzingis’ putback about midway through the third quarter made it 90-64.
Boston led 104-83 at the end of the third. The Pistons had a 6-0 spurt early in the fourth to cut their deficit to 15. White then knocked down a 3-pointer off a Pritchard feed.
Detroit never got closer than 18 again.