Northwest Wayne News

The Boston Celtics were as hot as the Detroit Pistons have been cold of late, with the Celtics winning nine games in a row and the Pistons the losers of eight straight.

Thanks to late game heroics by Jerami Grant, the struggling Pistons edged out the Celtics for a 1-point victory by a score of 112-111, giving the team something to reflect on during the All-Star break, the Pistons reported in a release.

"We didn't want to go into the break with nine straight losses," Grant said in the release. "We've got something to build on for the rest of the season now. It's huge."

Grant, who has been spotty since returning from a thumb injury where he was sidelined for 24 games, scored 11 fourth-quarter points going 5-for-5 from the field, the Pistons reported. He hit a tough shot with 19 seconds on the clock on a spin move over Boston superstar Jayson Tatum. Tatum had his own chance for redemption at the buzzer, but Grant played strong defense as time was winding down and forced Tatum to send a 20-foot fadeaway jumper off the mark, securing the victory for the Pistons.

It was a back-and-forth game between the two Eastern Conference foes, who have plenty of history dating back to the days old when legends such as Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas would battle it out, the Pistons reported. The game has changed and so have the players, but this one came down to dramatic fashion as well.

The victory for the Pistons came one game after the Celtics dominated the Philadelphia 76ers in a historic performance where the men in green won by 48 points, the NBA reported. The Celtics also recently blew out the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic by more than 30 points during the streak. For the Pistons, the win broke a lengthy losing streak and gave Detroit much needed confidence going into the second half of the season.

There were five Pistons in double figures, SofaScore reported. Grant not only had 24 points to lead the Pistons' scorers, but he also added three assists and a pair of rebounds over 30 minutes. Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey each had 20 points, with Bey getting a double-double with 11 rebounds and six assists. Cunningham added eight rebounds and six assists. Kelly Olynyk has struggled this season at times, but was solid in the win with 15 points, six rebounds and an assist in only 17 minutes. Isaiah Stewart added 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Jaylen Brown, who many feel was snubbed from this year's All-Star game, scored a game-high 31 points for Boston, adding six assists and two rebounds, SofaScore reported. Tatum scored 22 points and had five assists and four rebounds. Al Horford had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Grant Williams scored 17 points, gathered three rebounds and dished out three assists over a game-high 42 minutes of action.