Difficult and hard-fought victory for the Boston Celtics against the Detroit Pistons who fought throughout the match. The fouls slowed down Cunninghan, who saw the chances to win the game, which passed through his hands, vanish. Unfortunately, the protagonist of the match was Diallo, expelled after having pushed one of the referees.
The Detroit Pistons, who had just beaten Cleveland, received the Celtics. Those from Boston jumped onto the field with their gala quintet: Brown, Tatum, Smart, Williams and Horford. The game started with a lot of inaccuracy for both teams. Robert Williams wasted some clear scoring opportunities. Detroit commanded in the first quarter led by Cunninghanas usual, and Bey, who knew how to take advantage of the height advantage against Smart’s good defense. Tatum, with eight points and five assists, took responsibility and managed to close the fourth with a small advantage (26-30).
The second quarter, despite the good minutes of Detroit, was overshadowed by the non-sports. After a rebound and a subsequent counterattack start, Diallo pushed a referee to make room. After the action was reviewed, the player was sanctioned with a technique and direct expulsion, a decision strongly protested by the local bench. Minutes later, on the other side of the track, following a rebound, Smart and Stewart had to be separated after Smart was knocked to the ground after a struggle. The “28” of the Pistons received a technique for the action. When it comes to the game itself, the balance didn’t tip in any direction. It was an exchange of baskets that left the score at 54-56 at halftime.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first, both teams attacking but neither managed to escape.. Many interruptions with fouls caused the match to be locked. It would not be until the last quarter when the Boston Celtics woke up. Led by Tatum (26 points), Brown (27 points) and Pritchard (19), lethal from the three-point line, they managed to make a run of 2-15 that would end up deciding the game.. The Pistons, despite having fought the entire game, could not tell as much as they would have liked with their star, Cunningham, due to fouls. He had a couple of plays to get close on the scoreboard but lost several balls. The visitors took advantage of these errors and managed to close the score at 104-113.
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