How Celtics reacted to extending Pistons’ losing streak to record-tying 28 games
Detroit almost snapped its historically bad losing streak at TD Garden on Thursday.
The Celtics pulled off a narrow 128-122 overtime victory at TD Garden Thursday night, extending the Pistons’ losing streak to 28 games to tie the NBA’s all-time record for most losses in a row.
The Celtics felt the pressure to ensure that they wouldn’t be the ones to end Detroit’s historically bad streak, coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game.
A reporter asked Mazzulla if it was the kind of game he wanted to just get out of the way since there wouldn’t be much to gain from beating a team struggling this badly.
Mazzulla interjected before the question was finished with one of his own.
“How do we have nothing to gain from winning a basketball game?” Mazzulla asked.
“Actually, we learned more from that game than we did probably playing four games on the West Coast. That’s an opportunity to build a mindset and build toughness. And so, to me, we have everything to gain.”
Celtics guard Derrick White shook off a lackluster first half and finished with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting. He said he wasn’t too worried about the Pistons’ record heading into the game.
“I would say that we were like ‘Oh, if we lose, we’re the team that they broke the record against,'” White said. “You’re just competing to get a win, especially on our home court. So, for me personally, I wasn’t thinking too much about the losing streak, especially during the game.”
But, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum called Detroit’s record the “elephant in the room.”
“We talked about it at shootaround today,” Tatum said. “The game is always going to go as you expect it to, right? Obviously, everybody knows the elephant in the room, their record. But, they’re a talented team. They’re more talented than some of the other teams at the bottom end of the standings, especially in the division they’ve got.
“There’s some really talented guys, they’re well coached.” Tatum added. “I haven’t wanted every game they’ve played but in the games I have watched, they’ve played hard and made shots. They’ve lost a lot of games that were kind of close. You might think it’s going to be easy and they come and punch you in the mouth.”
There was a fan in the stands wearing a T-shirt that read: “I flew from Canada to watch the Pistons lose 28 games.”
The environment at TD Garden was as loud and energetic as it’s been at any point this season. Feeling the embarrassment of breaking Detroit’s prolonged losing streak seemed like a real possibility as the game drew closer to its end.
Mazzulla said he expected the game to be one of the toughest of the year because of how desperate the Pistons were to break the streak.
Kristaps Porzingis said he knew the second half would be a “war”, according to Jay King of The Athletic.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Celtics found a way to win.
“You talk about the in-season tournament creating something,” Mazzulla said. “How about the level of stress and pressure and anxiety that you felt in that arena today? To me, we gained a ton from tonight’s game. That was an awesome opportunity.”
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