Tatum, a forward selected for the All-Star Game, was somewhat slow in the first quarter, but he picked up little by little and by the third quarter he had several baskets, including three triples.
However, the star player had 18 cards and his Celtics took an 18-unit lead (90-72) in the third quarter.
Although the Pistons won the last quarter, the Celtics’ lead ended up being 12 points (111-99).
With Tatum on the bench, Detroit rallied to within seven points midway through the fourth quarter. Seconds into the game, Tatum squeezed to help stave off the potential comeback.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, who is averaging 27 points, missed the game with illness. Sam Hauser replaced, making his first start in two seasons, and had five 3-pointers (15 points) in the first half as he scored all of his 15 points.
Boston reserves Marcus Smart and Luke Kornet missed the game with ankle injuries.
But fellow backups Derrick White had 23 points and Malcolm Brogdon 15 for the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics, who had lost four of their previous six games.
Nets waste Thomas points
In New York, the Brooklyn Nets couldn’t take advantage of 47 points from Cameron Thomas and lost to the Los Angeles Clippers with a score of 124-116.
The Los Angeles quintet did take advantage of the performance of Paul George, who finished with 29 points, followed by Kawhi Leonard with 24 points and the Bosnian center Ivica Zubac finished with 19 cards and 12 ball recoveries in the rebounding fight.
In Salt Lake City, the Dallas Mavericks, despite not having the Slovenian star Luka Doncic, submitted to the Utah Jazz 124-111, in addition to welcoming Kyrie Irving.
Goalies Josh Green and Jaden Hardy each scored 29 points, the latter coming off the bench for Dallas.
Before the game, the Mavericks welcomed star Irving after the successful trade agreement between the Texan team and the Brooklyn Nets.
Days after the controversial point guard requested a move before the league’s trade deadline on Thursday, both clubs tweeted confirmation of the transfer following team physicals.
The Mavericks tweeted “Welcome to Dallas” messages to Irving and Markieff Morris, who came from the Nets in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, who received a similar greeting on social media in Brooklyn.
The Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers were among several clubs linked to Irving after his transfer request was made public, reportedly after failing to reach an agreement on the terms of a long-term contract extension.
Irving, who won an NBA crown with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, is averaging 27.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game this season, carrying Brooklyn’s scoring load at times while injured on the knee he knocked out star Kevin Durant.
Irving’s four seasons in Brooklyn brought heartache. He missed dozens of games last season after refusing to be vaccinated against covid-19.
This season, he was suspended for eight games after a social media post referring to a movie containing anti-Semitic themes and initially refused to apologize.
– Results of Monday in the NBA:
Boston and Detroit 111-99
LA Clippers a Brooklyn 124-116
Sacramento a Houston 140-120
Cleveland a Washington 114-91
Chicago at San Antonio 128-104
Dallas at Utah 124-111
Goden State a Oklahoma City 141-114
Milwaukee at Portland 127-108
