Celtics vs. Pistons score, highlights: Boston ends Detroit’s win streak in Thanksgiving Eve thriller
Around the table with family and friends, Boston Celtics fans will be thankful for ending the Detroit Pistons’ thirteen-game win streak following a thrilling Thanksgiving Eve game at the TD Garden.
In a game featuring several lead changes and ties, the Celtics controlled the second half and beat Detroit, 117-114. With the win, the Celtics remained alive in the NBA Cup.
Fans were on the edge of their seats towards the end of the game. Cade Cunningham, who scored 42 points, along with the 5,000th of his career, had an opportunity to hit three free throws following a reviewed play. He made two, and a third could have meant overtime. Instead, he missed it.
MORE: Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Gives Neemias Queta Injury Update
After Payton Pritchard made two free throws, Jordan Walsh caught the game-winning steal to secure it for Boston.
It was a true team effort for Boston, winners of two straight. Jaylen Brown ended the first half shooting 6-for-18 from the field. He ended the night with 33 points, shooting 12-for-32. Derrick White had his 57th straight game with a three-point FG, tying Isaiah Thomas. He scored 27.
Up next for Boston is a road game Saturday against Minnesota.
NESN tracked live scoring updates and highlights from Celtics vs. Pistons on Wednesday. Check out all of the action you may have missed right here!
Celtics vs. Pistons live score, updates, highlights
Final: Celtics 117, Pistons 114
7:47 p.m. ET: Pritchard made two free throws. Walsh with a pick to end the game. Celtics with a wild one, 117-114.
7:46 p.m. ET: Scheierman with a foul. Cunningham made two free throws. Timeout Celtics, their last timeout. Simons made two free throws. A foul call was changed for Cunningham, allowing him to go for three shots. He missed the third shot, making it 115-114 Celtics with 2.4 seconds left. Oh, the drama!
7:35 p.m. ET: Cunningham lost the ball! White with a clutch turnover. Foul on White. He made both free throws. 113-110 Celtics. Timeout with 9.9 seconds left.
7:30 p.m. ET: Brown with a layup. And one! It’s 108-105 Celtics with 1:37 left in the game. Pritchard with a foul and Cunningham hit two free throws. A one-point game. White with a massive three. Harris countered with a three of his own. Pistons timeout with 17.9 seconds left. Detroit has the ball.
7:26 p.m. ET: In traffic, Cunningham hit a two, his 34th point. Brown with a two of his own, his 30th point. White with a deep three and the crowd is going wild. Scheierman with a tough foul to call. Cunningham with a three to keep it a two-point lead for Boston. White with a foul (his fourth), and Duren hit two free throws. The game is tied.
7:19 p.m. ET: Brown with a dunk. Robinson with a layup. It’s 99-97 Pistons. Whit with a three to make it 100-99. He has 19 points. Timeout Detroit. This game is fantastic.
7:17 p.m. ET: Stewart with a dunk to make it a one-point game. Harris with a two to give the Pistons the late lead. LeVert followed it up with a three and give the Pistons a 9-0 scoring run. Brown with his 26th point to stop the Pistons. Turnover for the Celtics with 6:08 left in the game.
7:11 p.m. ET: Anfernee Simons made himself known with a three. Cunningham with only his second foul of the game. Hugo Gonzalez missed one free throw but made the other. Cunningham bullied his way to the net, scoring his 5,000 career point.
7:06 p.m. ET: The fourth quarter has started, and it’s a very close game. When one team scores, the other follows their lead to make things interesting.
End of third quarter: Celtics 86, Pistons 83
7:02 p.m. ET: A big three from White as both teams exchanged leads. Scheierman with his fourth foul. Jaden Ivey tied the game (83-83) following two made free throws. White went to the free throw line and landed three shots. That marked the end of the third.
6:55 p.m. ET: Brown with a deep three and a big rebound. Robinson with a three to cut the Celtics lead to one. Offensive foul for Brown after extending his arm to Robinson, his fourth foul. Meanwhile, Scheierman has three fouls. Minott with a big three. Cunningham with a big three.
6:45 p.m. ET: Brown with points in the paint as it seems he’s found his mojo. The same could be said for White, who shot a three and then stole the ball from Duren. Cunningham hit a three to cut the lead of the Celtics, 72-69.
6:38 p.m. ET: Walsh with a layup. Pistons missed key shots as the Celtics pummeled them by the glass. Duren has a double-double. Pritchard gave the Celtics the lead with a three. White with his 57th straight game with a three-point FG, tying Isaiah Thomas.
6:33 p.m. ET: The start of the third quarter has begun.
Halftime: Pistons 58, Celtics 57
6:18 p.m. ET: Scheierman hit a three for the lead, but Thompson hit one at the buzzer to give the Pistons a 58-57 lead at the half. Brown leads in points with 19 but went 6-18 from the field. Cunningham has 17.
6:16 p.m. ET: Brown with a steal and a two, scoring ten, then twelve, this quarter. Caris LeVert with a three, and then Tobias Harris gave the Pistons a lead after making two free throws.
6:10 p.m. ET: After starting hot, Brown is ice cold. White with a takeaway and Minott with an alley-oop to get a big bucket. Brown finally drained a three (3-12 FG). He was blocked by Thompson before he could regain momentum. Payton Pritchard tied the game with a three.
6:03 p.m. ET: Tied 35-35, there was a three-second violation on Jalen Duren. He recovered with a free throw, only making the first one, to give the Pistons the lead again. Ausar Thompson made both his free throws to give the Pistons a three-point lead.
5:54 p.m. ET: Baylor Scheierman has ten points off the Boston bench. A 9-0 Boston run ended via a Cunningham three. Ronald Holland II made two to tie the game, but White made two free throws to give Boston the lead again.
5:47 p.m. ET: Isaiah Stewart already has three fouls for Detroit. Josh Minott drained a three in the second to tie the game. He gave the Celtics the lead with a free throw.
End of first quarter: Pistons 30, Celtics 24
5:41 p.m. ET: The Pistons ended the first quarter with a six-point lead. Cunningham has eleven points for the Pistons, Brown with seven.
5:33 p.m. ET: More free throws for Brown, the main provider of the Celtics’ offense. Just as the Celtics made things interesting, Cunningham drained a three and followed it up with a dunk to extend the early lead.
5:26 p.m. ET: White has two fouls in four minutes played. The Celtics have missed several key shots as Joe Mazzulla called the first timeout of the game with about six minutes left in the first quarter.
5:19 p.m. ET: Brown managed to get Robinson to foul to score two more points for the Celtics. He has all four points for the Celtics early on. White with a fantastic block and Jordan Walsh followed it up with a three.
5:17 p.m. ET: After several minutes of action and missed shots, Brown scored the first points for the Celtics via free throws.
5:14 p.m. ET: We are underway in Boston. Pistons got the ball first. Jaylen Brown got fouled. Duncan Robinson scored first with a corner three.
5 p.m. ET: It’s another NBA Cup game for the Celtics. A loss would mean elimination from the tournament.
Pregame
5:49 p.m. ET: Jaylen Brown is the highlight of the Celtics’ lineup.
4:52 p.m. ET: The Pistons lineup is set as the team look for 14 wins in a row.
4:30 pm. ET: Baylor Scheierman is a High School Musical fan.
4:15 p.m. ET: After spraining his ankle on Sunday, Neemias Queta is considered day-to-day. Amari Williams is with the Celtics today.
4 p.m. ET: It’s an hour before tipoff!
What Channel Is Celtics vs. Pistons on in Boston?
Fans can watch the Celtics game on ESPN via the new ESPN app.
Now you can watch ESPN without cable. Stream live NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, college sports, plus SportsCenter, First Take, and all your favorite ESPN shows—anytime, anywhere—only in the new ESPN app.
The game will also be available via Fubo, which offers a free trial for new subscribers.
What Time Does the Celtics vs. Pistons Game Start?
- Date: Wednesday, Nov. 26
- Time: 5 p.m. ET
Celtics vs. Pistons is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 26. The game will be played at the TD Garden in Boston.
Boston Celtics schedule 2025
Here’s a look at the Celtics’ upcoming schedule for the 2025-26 season:
All times ET
- Wed., Nov. 26: vs. Pistons (5 p.m.)
- Sat. Nov. 29: at Timberwolves (5 p.m.)
- Sun., Nov. 30: at Cavaliers (6 p.m.)
- Tues., Dec. 2: vs. Knicks (8 p.m.)
- Thurs., Dec. 4: at Wizards (7 p.m.)