DETROIT — The Pistons’ offense has had its struggles for much of the season. In some games, it’s poor 3-point shooting. In others, it’s free throws.
In Friday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics, it was the shots inside the arc where they had a hard time. For most of the game, they were shooting below 30% on 2-point shots, and they finished at 31% with some better production in the second half.
By then, the Celtics had built a double-digit lead, and the Pistons couldn’t dig out of another big hole, falling to a 102-93 loss on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.
It’s the seventh loss in the last eight games for the Pistons (12-40), who next play on Sunday afternoon at Minnesota, a rematch of Thursday’s loss to the Timberwolves.
Hamidou Diallo had 21 points and 14 rebounds, Saddiq Bey 21 points and four assists and Jerami Grant 10 points and three rebounds. Diallo (8 of 17) and Killian Hayes (5 of 11, 11 points) were the only Pistons players to shoot 40% or better from the field.
The shooting struggles abounded, with Grant going 3 of 12, Isaiah Stewart 2 of 10 and Trey Lyles 3 of 10. Their 3-point shooting helped keep them in the game, as they went 10 of 26 from beyond the arc, for a respectable 39%.
The Celtics (29-25) surged at the end of the first quarter, with Jaylen Brown (13 points and seven rebounds) getting a 3-pointer and splitting a pair of free throws for a 17-11 lead. Brown added a turnaround jumper and the lead pushed to eight. After a put-back dunk by Al Horford, the Celtics had a 28-16 lead entering the second quarter.
The Pistons were shooting just 29% from the field midway through the second quarter, before a 3-pointer by Bey cut the lead to 40-29. The Celtics kept the pressure on, with a dunk by Robert Williams (11 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks) starting a 6-2 spurt to finish the half with a 46-31 advantage for Boston.
The Celtics started the third quarter with a tip-in and a floater from Marcus Smart to create more cushion, but Jayson Tatum got things going, with 19 of his 24 points in the period. Tatum had back-to-back 3-pointers, pushing the lead to 16, and the run reached 16-5, and a 78-56 lead for the Celtics entering the fourth quarter.
