Pistons at Celtics final score: Pistons can’t rally past Thomas, fall 113-109

For real Isaiah Thomas. Just stop. We get it man, you’re good.

Honestly, fella has a Napoleon complex. That’s all I have left to explain what he’s doing to the league this season. And he did it to the Pistons tonight. Dude posted 41 points, 8 assists, and a pair of steals. His 15 trips to the line were brutal, especially considering he made all of them.

Between the Pistons and Celtics tonight, it was kind of a comparison of when hero ball goes good and when it goes bad.

Detroit had a chance down the stretch, when Tobias Harris closed the Celtics gap to two points to head into the final minute. And Marcus Smart did his best to hand the game to the Pistons. Wide open for what could have been a near game clinching layup, Smart missed badly.

Detroit pushed the ball back up the court and Jackson took a wild reverse layup that didn’t even come close. Ok, still two points. The game was called to a stop with 33 seconds remaining as Jonas Jerebko caught Jon Leuer with an elbow and Leuer had to head to the locker room to get the wound closed.

On the inbound pass, Smart mishandled a relatively unchallenged pass from Jae Crowder and ended up with a backcourt violation. Still two points.

Jackson made his way into the lane, drew the extra defender, but had his layup blocked. Detroit sent Thomas to the line and it was pretty much start writing.

Stan Van Gundy actually pulled Jackson for the final couple of possessions. But it was pretty much a white flag move.

The close finish was actually the finest point of what was mostly a frustrating night. The Pistons had a hell of a time from behind the arc, shooting just 3-27 from three. With a figure like that, it’s nearly amazing they had the chance to be close late.

You can thank Andre Drummond for that. He finished with 28 points on 12-19 shooting, 22 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Over the past week, Drummond has been playing some of his most consistent, dominant ball of the season. That they’ve all been losses is not reflective of his play.

Despite a strong start, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s shooting woes continue with his return from his shoulder injury. He put up 18 points, but on just 5-16 shooting thanks to a nice 6-8 performance at the line. But partner’s now 11 of his last 41 shots over the past three games. He’s taking and missing just a ton of shots.

The Pistons schedule has been slow as of late, but picks up over the next two weeks as when they tip off against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, it’ll start a stretch of 9 games in 15 days.

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