Pistons shut down Celtics in final minutes to earn first victory - MLive.com

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The New Year brought the Detroit Pistons better fortune in the fourth quarter.

After losing another fourth quarter lead, the Pistons rallied in the final few minutes and defeated the Boston Celtics 96-93 Friday at Little Caesars Arena for their first victory of the season.

It snaps a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season.

The Pistons (1-4) had led in the fourth quarter in three of their first four games but failed to close out any of them.

This time, they came up with several defensive stops in the waning minutes. Jaylen Brown missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer just before the final horn.

Mason Plumlee (16 rebounds) had split a pair of free throws with 5.6 seconds to play to give the Pistons a crucial three-point cushion.

Jerami Grant scored a team-high 24 points. He has scored 24 or more in four consecutive games.

Rookie Sadiq Bey, starting in place of Blake Griffin (concussion protocol), scored 17 points, including 5-of-6 3-pointers. Derrick Rose scored 17 points.

The Pistons overcame Boston’s dynamic one-two punch of Jayson Tatum (28 points) and Brown (25 points), holding the Celtics (3-3) scoreless over their final eight possessions spanning 4:15.

The teams meet again Sunday at LCA (3 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit) as the NBA has scheduled many back-to-back games in the same cities for teams this season to reduce travel.

The Pistons did not trail in the first three quarters. They led 55-40 at the half but the Celtics, behind Tatum and Brown, heated up in the third quarter.

Tatum scored 14 points in the third on a mix of jump shots and drives to the rim. Brown reeled off seven points in 1:17 to start the fourth quarter, giving Boston its first lead of the night at 80-79.

Brown’s driving layup and Tatum’s 3-pointer gave the Celtics their biggest lead of the night at 93-88 with 4:15 to play.

The Pistons closed it out with an 8-0 run, launched by Grant’s driving layup and pair of free throws.

Rookie center Isaiah Stewart provided some toughness in the paint, scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds. Josh Jackson scored 11 points.

The Pistons led by as many as 21 in the first half.

Grant did most of the damage with 18 points on 7-of-11. Stewart four points off put-backs. He and Rose (11 points) provided a spark off the bench.

More: Young Pistons trying to learn from mistakes

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