Detroit erased a 22-point deficit to beat Boston 121-113 in the season opener, spoiling a record 38-point Celtics debut from Paul George.
By The Beat Writer — CelebnMusic247
Openers are supposed to tell you something early. This one told two stories in the same building, and only one of them survived the fourth quarter.
Per Reuters, the Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics 121-113 at Little Caesars Arena, closing the game with 23 unanswered points after trailing by 22. Boston’s biggest lead came early in the third quarter at 72-50, built, per the Associated Press via TSN, after Paul George hit three 3-pointers in less than a minute. From there, Detroit outscored Boston 71-41 the rest of the way, including a 39-25 fourth quarter.
George’s individual night deserves its own paragraph. In his first game for Boston since arriving in the trade that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia, he scored 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including 7-of-12 from three, with five steals, per the box score reported by multiple outlets. That is the most points ever by a player in a Celtics debut, passing the 30 Kristaps Porzingis scored in 2023. In his 17th season, George looked like the peak version of himself — and it still was not enough.
The reason was balance, and a bench that changed the game. Cade Cunningham finished with 22 points and eight assists, and Jalen Duren matched him with 22 points and nine rebounds, per Reuters and AP. Duncan Robinson scored 21 points, 15 of them in the fourth quarter, and hit five 3-pointers. The swing player was Javonte Green, who did not play at all in the first half and then scored 19 points in 18 minutes, including the go-ahead 3-pointer that put Detroit in front in the fourth. Ausar Thompson added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Boston’s problem sat right next to George’s brilliance. Jayson Tatum, playing his first full season since tearing his Achilles tendon in May 2025, was held to 13 points on 6-of-23 shooting and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts, though he did hand out 11 assists, per Reuters. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard scored 17 apiece, but when Detroit’s run hit, Boston had no second scorer hot enough to stop it. George also picked up a $2,000 flopping fine from the league office on Wednesday, per Bleacher Report — the first flopping fine of the 2026-27 season, and an expensive footnote to a record debut.
Here is the beat the box score alone does not give you: Detroit did not win this game at the 3-point line — Boston actually made more threes — it won it inside and at the stripe, outscoring Boston 44-34 in the paint and making 28 of 32 free throws to Boston’s 16 of 21, per AP’s numbers. That is how a 60-win team from last season, per Reuters, defends its home floor: not with one star’s heroics, but by making the last 18 minutes a test of depth the other team fails.
Next up, per AP, Boston hosts the New York Knicks on Friday, while Detroit travels to Miami on Friday. One game proves nothing in an 82-game season, but the pecking-order message in the East just got louder.
The 247 Take — Paul George gave Boston a debut for the record book, and Detroit gave everyone else the more important headline: this Pistons team can take a contender’s best punch, fall 22 behind, and still finish the night looking like the deeper team.
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Sources: Reuters, TSN / Associated Press, Bleacher Report
