The Boston Celtics have not trailed in any of their last five road games heading into Saturday afternoon’s visit to the lottery-bound Detroit Pistons.
Overall, Boston has won six straight road contests. In the last five wire-to-wire victories, the Celtics have outscored the opposition by a combined 148 points — the largest point differential in a five-game road span in NBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
They came out of the All-Star break on Thursday and thumped the host Brooklyn Nets 129-106.
“I felt like we had a really good practice, and we were all really engaged, committed to what we needed to do,” forward Al Horford said. “The shootaround (Thursday) morning was focused as well, and I think we all understood that we needed to come out and set the tone from the beginning, and all the guys that came in did that.”
Boston, which has won 10 of its last 11 games, shot 54.1 percent from the field and held Brooklyn to 41.5 shooting. Jayson Tatum was the offensive star, pouring in 30 points while making half of his 20 field-goal attempts. Boston had six other players reach double figures.
“We’re having a lot more fun, knowing how we play and how we should be playing night in and night out,” Tatum said. “Just really trying to build off of that from game to game and having fun while doing it.”
The Nets needed to score 32 fourth-quarter points to surpass the 100-point mark. The Celtics have held seven of their last 11 opponents under the 100-point threshold.
It felt like we didn’t come out rusty at all,” Boston coach Ime Udoka said. “That’s a mentally focused group that came out and executed and defended well. Picked up where we left off before the break.”
The only team that has defeated the Celtics since Jan. 29 is Detroit. The Pistons pulled off a 112-111 surprise in Boston just before the All-Star break.
Jerami Grant had 24 points, including the game-winning basket, in that contest. Grant was limited to 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting on Thursday, but the Pistons also won their first game after the break. They edged Cleveland 106-103 as rookie Cade Cunningham made four free throws in the final minute.
“We stayed in there and fought the whole game and we came out with the win,” reserve forward Marvin Bagley said. “That’s the most important thing.”
Bagley, who was acquired at the trade deadline from Sacramento, contributed 16 points in 27 minutes off the bench. Hamidou Diallo (21 points), Rodney McGruder (12 points) and Killian Hayes (five assists) also provided a boost in reserve roles.
“Hami and Rodney, that second unit changed the game,” Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. “Sped up the game. Killian was also in that group. They did a really good job of setting the tempo.”
The Pistons are well aware how the Celtics can dominate on the road. Boston won in Detroit on Feb. 4, 102-93, in a game that was not as close as the final score might indicate. The Celtics also never trailed in that game and led by as many as 24 points.
