Subscribe
Follow Us
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics' talent can be overwhelming. Therefore, opposing teams often meet Boston's star power with increased physicality. That was the case on Wednesday night versus the Detroit Pistons, but the Celtics refused to be daunted and triumphed 130-120, improving to 18-4 on the season.
Before the end of the first quarter of the double-digit win, Celtics star Jaylen Brown greeted Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart at the rim with a ferocious, two-hand slam. Immediately after his dunk on Stewart, Brown made a throat-slash gesture, sending a clear message to the Pistons enforcer.
Stewart, also known as “Beef Stew,” is known for his intense, physical play. And he wasn't going to forget Brown's celebration.
With 3:32 remaining in the second quarter, Brown and Stewart waited under the rim for a rebound, yet Celtics guard Derrick White ended up draining his shot from 3-point land. That didn't stop Stewart from shoving Brown under the basket and sending him into the crowd.
Once the Eastern Conference contest wrapped up, Brown stated that fighting with Stewart was far from a priority. However, he emphasized that the Celtics aren't afraid of in-game aggression.
“I feel like he's always doing stuff like that. That's how he plays the game,” Brown said of Stewart's shove. “My focus was on coming out, running the offense, and getting our team into the right positions. So I didn't want to get distracted, but definitely some going back and forth. And we not tolerating that this year, from nobody.”
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis embodied that fearlessness in the fourth quarter, as he got tangled up with Stewart and grabbed his jersey. They both received technical fouls for the close encounter.
How Jaylen Brown and the Celtics outlasted the Pistons
More importantly, Boston backed up its physicality and survived Detroit's second-half push. When the Pistons cut the Celtics' 20-point lead down to five with a minute to go in the fourth quarter, bench guard Payton Pritchard responded with a clutch 3-pointer 15 seconds later. The Celtics had a counter for all of the Pistons' punches, and Brown was a big reason why.
The reigning NBA Finals MVP finished with 28 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and three steals in 38 minutes. With fellow Celtics star Jayson Tatum sidelined with a knee injury, Brown took over as Boston's go-to guy. Porzingis thought his “Cookies and Cream” counterpart more than delivered in his primary role.
“When [Brown is] engaged like this, he's one of the best players in the league, in my opinion,” Porzingis complimented during his postgame presser. “What we love about him is he's going to make the right play and he's gonna give the team what they need in the moment.”
The Pistons tried to make life difficult for Brown whenever he drove to the basket. As a result, he had a game-high 11 free throw attempts, his second-most of the 2024-25 season. He converted on seven of those shots from the charity stripe and never backed down from Detroit's tough defense, which Porzingis commended.
“He was exerting a lot of energy just to get downhill and, of course, they're trying to be physical. But his physicality, his motor, it's like he's an animal, not gonna lie,” Porzingis described. “He's JB. We almost expect this from him. But he's really, really good.”
Brown and company will look to bring that same energy into their Friday night showdown with the 11-10 Milwaukee Bucks. The last time the C's and Bucks faced off, Milwaukee's franchise cornerstone, Giannis Antetokounmpo, elbowed Brown, causing a chippy back-and-forth and some harsh words as well. That animosity could resurface when the Celtics attempt to sweep the season series with the Bucks for the first time in 12 years.
