The Detroit Pistons came back from 22 points down to beat the Boston Celtics 121-113 in the first game of the 2026-27 NBA season, spoiling a record-breaking Celtics debut from Paul George.
Boston led 72-50 midway through the third quarter at Little Caesars Arena, but Detroit outscored the visitors 71-41 from there, according to the ESPN box score. The Pistons won the fourth quarter 39-25.
The game was played on Tuesday afternoon in Detroit (Wednesday morning in Australia), the opening act of the NBA’s season-opening tripleheader.
How Detroit turned it around
Jalen Duren and Cade Cunningham top-scored for the Pistons with 22 points each. Duren added nine rebounds and Cunningham had eight assists, while Duncan Robinson made five three-pointers on his way to 21 points.
Javonte Green gave Detroit a lift off the bench with 19 points, including five threes. Green’s jump shot with 6:41 left gave the Pistons their first lead of the second half at 101-99.
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Ausar Thompson added 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Pistons also made 28 of 32 free throws, compared with Boston’s 16 of 21, and outscored the Celtics 44-34 in the paint.
Paul George sets Celtics debut record
George, who joined Boston in the off-season trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, NESN reported, scored 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting, with seven threes and five steals.
NBA PR said during the game that George had broken the record for the most points in a Celtics debut, passing the 30 Kristaps Porzingis scored in 2023.
Jayson Tatum had a tough day with 13 points on 6-of-23 shooting, missing all seven of his three-point attempts, although he had 11 assists. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard each scored 17.
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Detroit started the season on the back of a 60-win campaign in 2025-26, ESPN noted, and shrugged off a slow start to make it one from one.
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