The Boston Celtics (38-21) played spoiler at the Palace of Auburn Hills tonight, beating the Detroit Pistons 104-98 (28-31) on Rip Hamilton Night.
The Detroit Pistons had their hands full defensively, struggling at times to guard Boston Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas. The 5’9 point guard scored 33 points on 10-23 shooting in 34 minutes. Head coach Stan Van Gundy attempted to counter Thomas’s scoring ability by matching him up with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope when he was on the floor. That led to forward Stanley Johnson being on the floor for 11 minutes, the least he has played in one game since Jan.