Although they were missing four players, including two starters, the Boston Celtics turned in what may have been their best defensive performance of the season during a 108-89 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday.
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla would certainly like to see a similar effort when the Celtics face the visiting Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis (injury management), Jrue Holiday (left knee), Al Horford (sprained toe) and Sam Hauser (personal reasons), but limited Miami to 35.6 percent shooting. field goals (31 of 87).
It was the first time this season that the Celtics held an opponent to fewer than 90 points and also the first time a Boston opponent shot less than 40 percent from the floor.
Porzingis and Horford should return to action Wednesday, while Holiday and Jayson Tatum (right knee) were listed as questionable.
Luke Kornet was the starting center and led the Celtics’ defensive effort by tying his career high with six blocked shots.
“When he plays with that level of physicality on both ends of the floor, it makes our team different,” Mazzulla said. “I think his two biggest strengths are his physicality and rim protection when he’s at his best, and then his blocking against different coverages. I think we saw both of those throughout the game, and he just has to keep doing that. But when plays at a high level, we are a different team and we can go for different things.”
Boston player Payton Pritchard strengthened his candidacy for NBA Sixth Man of the Year by making 5 of 12 three-point attempts and scoring 25 points against the Heat. Pritchard has come off the bench to score at least 20 points in each of the team’s last four games.
Despite a 3-1 record in the NBA Cup group stage, the Celtics were eliminated from the event following Tuesday’s results.
The Pistons were also eliminated from the NBA Cup after suffering a 128-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. Cade Cunningham scored a team-high 23 points for Detroit, which finished 3-1 in the group stage.
“This was the first big game of my (NBA) career, of many of our careers,” Cunningham said. “Now we’re going to try to make the playoffs and feel that again.”
Tobias Harris (16 points), Tim Hardaway (15) and Jalen Duren (11) also scored in double figures for the Pistons, who allowed 78 points in the first half and trailed by 19 at halftime.
“It was a great opportunity and experience for our guys,” Detroit coach JB Bickerstaff said. “The message to our guys is that, for a lot of us in the NBA, this is the most important game we’ve ever played, right? And playing against a team that has champions. Guys who have been through the fire before, understand what it takes to get to the next level. The NBA doesn’t allow you to skip steps.
“All the guys in that (Milwaukee) locker room who won championships or had success in the playoffs, at some point as a team they also didn’t reach their goals, and they learned from that, they got better. And that’s what we have to do. We have to learn of that, seeing how it feels. You don’t know what it feels like until you live it.
The Pistons have lost their last two games and six of their last eight. The Celtics have won eight of the last nine overall and five in a row at home.
–Field level media
