NBA: Pistons fend off Celtics in battle of East's best

Tobias Harris scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons narrowly defeated the Boston Celtics 104-103 on Monday, in a clash between the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

Jalen Duren added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Cade Cunningham—who was announced earlier in the day as an All-Star starter—finished with 16 points and 14 assists. Duncan Robinson contributed 15 points, all from 3-pointers.

Boston’s Jaylen Brown, also named an All-Star starter, led his team with 32 points and 11 rebounds but missed a potential game-winning shot on the Celtics’ final possession. Payton Pritchard scored 17 points, and Sam Hauser added 16 points.

The Pistons clinched the season series against Boston, winning 3-1, but the victory was far from easy.

Harris hit a pull-up jumper in the final minute of the third quarter to give Detroit an 84-82 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Jaden Ivey’s 3-pointer with 8:41 left pushed the Pistons ahead 91-87. Cunningham then assisted Robinson on a 3-pointer to make it 96-91. Boston responded with six straight points, capped by a Brown layup, to take back the lead. Harris then sank a 3-pointer to give Detroit a 99-97 advantage.

Harris later hit a corner 3-pointer with 1:37 remaining, extending Detroit’s lead to 104-99.

Brown scored on back-to-back possessions to close the gap to one point. Detroit failed to score on their next possession, and after a timeout, Brown missed a fadeaway jumper as the final buzzer sounded.

Cunningham struggled early, making only one of seven shots in the first half, but Detroit still held a 59-51 lead at halftime. Harris led the Pistons with 13 points, while Brown carried Boston with 19 points despite the Celtics shooting just 33.3%.

Boston briefly took the lead early in the third quarter after a 9-0 run, with Hauser making two 3-pointers. Pritchard then added two free throws to put the Celtics ahead 68-67.

The rest of the third quarter remained tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than three points.

—Field Level Media/Reuters