DETROIT (AP) — Jayson Tatum leaped toward the basket and Andre Drummond met him there, blocking the Boston forward’s attempt at a one-handed dunk.
It was a fitting conclusion to an impressive second half of defense by the Detroit Pistons.
“I was thinking to myself as I was running. I’m like, if he gets this dunk, it’s going to ignite their entire team,” Drummond said. “I have to do something.”
There would be no late surge by the Celtics in the final minutes. Blake Griffin scored 27 points and Drummond added 19 points and 20 rebounds to help the Pistons win 113-104 on Saturday night, snapping the Celtics’ eight-game winning streak. Detroit also ended its own six-game skid with a solid 48-minute effort.
The Pistons took control with a 13-0 run in the third quarter and played well at the start of the fourth as well.
“They looked great. They were screening us, they were active, they were alert, they played great,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “We couldn’t match them shot for shot because the way we were guarding, that’s what we had to do, and we just couldn’t do it. So hats off to them. It’s not our best game. That’s it.”
Kyrie Irving led Boston with 26 points.
Both teams shot over 60 percent from the field in the first quarter, and the game was still tight at halftime, with Detroit up 57-56. Drummond punctuated his team’s 13-point run in the third with a dunk that put the Pistons ahead 76-66.
Boston closed the quarter strong and trailed by just seven after three, but a 10-1 run to start the fourth put Detroit up 95-79.
The Celtics missed their first seven shots from the floor in the final quarter and went over seven minutes before making a field goal.
The Pistons had 20 turnovers, including eight in the fourth quarter.
“The simple plays, just making the simple pass is the key,” Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. “The game gives you simple plays and for whatever reason we kind of get discombobulated.”
