The Detroit Pistons punctuated their recent winning streak with a 117-97 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night that included big-time performances from Cade Cunningham and Malik Beasley.
Detroit rode a blistering second half to their eighth straight win, sending shockwaves throughout the league and positioning themselves as a legitimate Eastern Conference championship contender.
On Thursday, social media reacted to the Pistons’ huge win, with fans and analysts scrambling to predict whether Detroit might be a threat to the established powers in the conference.
The Celtics’ loss came without former NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, who spoke disparagingly about the Pistons prior to the 2024-2025 NBA season.
Jaylen Brown of the Celtics drives vs. Scottie Barnes of the Raptors on Feb. 25, 2025.
© Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
“Finding different ways to lead also sometimes means that sacrifice, where, you know, on a night we playin’, don’t mean to disrespect them but the Detroit Pistons, who have struggled over the last year or two, you know, we gon’ play through Payton (Pritchard),” Brown said in a video that appeared all over again on social media.
“Let him go for 30, play through Sam (Hauser), let him shoot 10 threes tonight, we gon’ still win the game,” Brown can be heard saying in the video clip that was viewed over 655,000 times as of Thursday night.
Brown’s thigh contusion injury got an update from coach Joe Mazzulla following the game.
“He’s feeling a little bit better, but he was pretty banged up from last night,” Mazzulla said.
“So, we were just doing what is best for him (by resting him).”
