Celtics Fall Just Short in Gritty Battle with Pistons: Jaylen Brown Embraces the Challenge
DETROIT - The scoreboard told the story of a one-point loss, but the Boston Celtics' narrow 104-103 defeat to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night was about more than just the final numbers. It was a physical, grind-it-out matchup between two of the East’s toughest teams - and it left Jaylen Brown walking out of the locker room still processing what could’ve been.
With the game on the line and the Celtics down by one, Brown got the shot he wanted - a midrange jumper he’s been hitting all season. Head coach Joe Mazzulla said he’d take that look "100 times out of 100." But this time, it rimmed out.
“It felt good,” Brown said. “My legs are a little heavy, but gotta make a play for my team at the end.”
Heavy legs weren’t just a figure of speech. Detroit brought their usual brand of bruising basketball, and Brown felt every bit of it.
The Pistons, boasting the league’s second-ranked defense, made sure nothing came easy. Brown still managed to pour in 32 points on 10-of-28 shooting, but he had to fight for every bucket.
“You gotta give credit to them,” Brown said. “They’re extremely physical.
You feel it on every possession the whole game. I feel like we matched the level of intensity.
We matched the level of physicality. But we just came up short.”
That physicality wasn’t limited to the offensive end. Brown spent much of his night chasing Cade Cunningham, helping hold Detroit’s lead guard to just 16 points on 4-of-17 shooting - although Cunningham did dish out 14 assists.
For Brown, the two-way responsibility is something he embraces. He’s long said he views himself as one of the best two-way players in the league, and nights like this - where he’s asked to carry the scoring load while locking down the opponent’s best perimeter player - are exactly what he lives for.
“It’s a challenge on defense and offense,” Brown said. “Tonight, guarding Cade, chasing him through screens, picking him up full-court.
Then having to find legs to make plays on offense and down the line. Big shots.
It’s a challenge, but I take those challenges on. It improves your shape.
It tests your mental shape, as well. That’s what the regular season is for.
Just keep getting better and you look to make those plays when they matter the most in the playoffs.”
This was the fourth time these two teams have squared off this season, and all four games have been battles - the total margin across those contests? Just 17 points.
Monday night was no different. It didn’t take long for the intensity to boil over.
Midway through the first quarter, Brown and Isaiah Stewart picked up matching technicals after getting tangled under the rim. Brown clapped his hands as they returned to the floor, then finished a layup through contact from Stewart moments later.
There’s history there. Brown was fined in 2024 for a throat-slash gesture after dunking on Stewart, and the two had words again earlier this season. But Brown downplayed any animosity.
“It was just having fun,” Brown said of their previous run-in. “That was it.
Just having fun. I think Stewart is a nice guy.”
Stewart might be a nice guy off the court, but on it, he and the Pistons bring an edge. The Celtics didn’t back down. Mazzulla praised his team’s response to the physicality.
“It was two really good teams going against each other,” Mazzulla said. “And I thought the physicality was met.”
That physicality clearly impacted the first half. Boston struggled to get anything going offensively, shooting just 33.3 percent from the field (15-of-45) and 6-of-22 from beyond the arc.
They managed only 14 points in the paint before halftime, and even high-percentage looks weren’t falling. Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta were both denied at the rim on dunk attempts, and the starting backcourt of Derrick White and Payton Pritchard combined for just eight points in the opening 24 minutes.
White, in particular, couldn’t buy a bucket early - he missed his first seven shots before finally seeing one drop midway through the third.
But the Celtics found a rhythm after halftime. They opened the third quarter by hitting six of their first eight threes, sparking a back-and-forth second half.
Sam Hauser stayed hot from deep, knocking down four triples to extend his streak to nine straight games with multiple made threes. Pritchard, returning from a one-game absence due to an ankle injury, added 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting and helped steady the offense despite what he described as tight officiating that made it hard to find a rhythm.
“It can be very hard at times,” Pritchard said. “So I was joking around during the game, like, I don’t even have a sweat going at all.
So it can be definitely hard, but (the Pistons are) going through it too, so it’s like, no excuse. You gotta just perform.”
Both teams did just that down the stretch. With about six minutes to go, Duncan Robinson hit a three to put Detroit ahead 96-91, moments after White missed one on the other end. Boston answered with a 6-0 run to take the lead, setting up a dramatic finish.
With two minutes left and the Celtics trailing by two, Brown missed a pair of free throws. Detroit capitalized - Tobias Harris drilled a three to push the lead to five.
But Brown wasn’t done. He drove for a layup, then hit a floater to pull Boston within one.
That left one final chance. Brown caught the ball, got to his spot, rose up - and missed.
“Last play,” Brown said. “Catch.
Get to a spot. Go up.
Gotta make a play for your team at the end. Got some opportunities.
Didn’t convert. Still got some room to grow.
That’s what the regular season is for. We’ll get better.”
For Brown, it’s all part of the process. The Pistons pushed the Celtics to the limit, and while the result stung, the lessons matter more in January than the standings.
“It’s a test of will,” Brown said, “a test of physicality, and tonight we came up short by a couple possessions. I think that it’s shown the growth of our team, how we fight. And when it comes down to it I’ve got to make a play for our team.”
The Celtics will have more chances to make those plays - and if Brown has anything to say about it, he’ll be ready when it matters most.