SportsBasketball
Pistons erase 22-point deficit with 23-0 run to beat Celtics in NBA opener
Detroit won the first game of the 2026-27 season 121-113, spoiling Paul George's Boston debut. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren scored 22 points each.
Key points
- The Pistons beat the Celtics 121-113 in the first game of the NBA season.
- Detroit came back from 22 points down with a 23-0 run in the fourth quarter.
- Duncan Robinson scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
The Detroit Pistons opened the NBA season with a comeback to remember on Tuesday. Trailing the Boston Celtics by 22 points at Little Caesars Arena, they put together a 23-0 run in the fourth quarter and won 121-113.
The comeback was described by NBA Communications as the largest on an opening day in the play-by-play era. It spoiled Paul George’s first game for Boston after his move from Philadelphia, in a Celtics line-up that no longer includes Jaylen Brown for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Who did the damage
Cade Cunningham scored 22 points with eight assists, and Jalen Duren matched him with 22 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Duncan Robinson finished with 21, 15 of them in the fourth quarter, and Javonte Green added 19 after sitting out the first half, 11 of them in the third quarter.
The turnaround came from long range. Detroit made only 4 of 18 three-point attempts in the first half, and 11 of 22 after the break. Boston, by contrast, shot 38.5% in the second half.
Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff praised Ausar Thompson’s defensive work, saying what he wanted to see was “a willingness to continue to be assertive no matter the circumstances”.
The rest of opening night
The game was the first of three on opening night. The New York Knicks were due to raise their first championship banner since 1973 before facing the Philadelphia 76ers, now with LeBron James and Brown, and the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the San Antonio Spurs, last season’s beaten finalists, in the late game.
Detroit play next at Miami on Friday.