The five-minute stretch that changed Boston and Detroit’s opener

The lead looked settled before it moved

Detroit’s opening game against Boston turned on a stretch that lasted about five minutes. The Celtics were ahead 99-89 with 8:19 left in the fourth quarter. Over the next five minutes, the Pistons scored 23 straight points without giving up one. They led 112-99 with 3:33 remaining. The NBA’s game breakdown records both the sequence and the larger comeback: Detroit had trailed by 22 in the third quarter. The AP reports Detroit had cut that deficit to six by the end of the third quarter.

The run followed an earlier Boston burst. Paul George made three three-pointers in less than a minute near the start of the third quarter, helping the Celtics reach a 72-50 lead with 8:32 left in the period. That possession history matters because the game did not flip from an even score. Detroit had to reduce the gap, then attack again when the score was close. The five-minute stretch describes the final swing, not the whole comeback.

Green gave Detroit a different kind of lift

Javonte Green did not play in the first half. Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff inserted him with 7:26 left in the third quarter, while the Pistons trailed 74-53. Green missed his first three-point attempt, then scored 11 points in a two-minute burst that included three more threes and two free throws. The Associated Press report says he finished with 19 points.

That timeline tells more than the familiar line about a reserve getting hot. Green entered while Detroit still needed to cover a large gap. His first miss did not end the stint, and he kept getting opportunities. The NBA story also reports Bickerstaff’s explanation: the staff wanted an energy boost, and the coach trusted Green to contribute on defense as well as through his shot-making. A player who had not appeared before halftime became one of the game’s main sources of offense.

Robinson carried the scoring into the fourth

Duncan Robinson’s work came later. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, nine on three-pointers and six at the free-throw line. Boston fouled him twice while he attempted threes. The NBA recap says Robinson and Green each made five three-pointers overall, while Robinson finished with 21 points.

A foul on a three-point attempt can change the rhythm of a comeback. It stops the clock, gives the shooter a chance to add points without a made field goal and changes how defenders approach the next perimeter possession. Robinson’s free throws also meant Detroit’s scoring did not depend entirely on finding another made three. That variety helps describe what happened. It does not prove Boston deliberately targeted him or that the same calls would appear in another game.

The 23-0 stretch combined several small advantages

The NBA’s breakdown says Detroit’s full run began with Boston still ahead by ten and ended with the Pistons up 13. Green scored during the third-quarter climb; Robinson then accounted for much of the fourth-quarter production. Other players helped keep the possession sequence moving. Detroit coach Bickerstaff said the team relied on the depth of its roster when the game called for a particular boost.

The numbers alone do not identify a single tactical change that explains all 23 points. They show a sequence assembled from shot-making, free throws, stops and lineup choices. The Associated Press described Green’s go-ahead three, a three-point play by Jalen Duren and a Robinson three as the stretch that put Detroit ahead 107-99 with 5:10 to play. That moment came before the run reached its full 23-point total. The score continued to move after the first lead change.

Detroit’s two main starters steadied the comeback

Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren each finished with 22 points. Cunningham had eight assists and scored 14 points in the second half, including eight in the fourth. Duren added nine rebounds. Three of his rebounds came on offense, and Detroit held a 24-16 edge in second-chance points, according to the NBA recap.

The reserves’ burst stands out because it was brief, but Detroit’s comeback had contributions across the whole game. Cunningham’s second-half scoring and Duren’s work on the glass show how the starters remained involved outside that stretch. Their box-score lines cover all minutes, while the 23-0 mark refers to a five-minute window; the NBA recap does not attribute each run possession to one player.

An offensive rebound records an extra possession; second-chance points count the scoring after one. The first is Duren’s individual contribution here, while the second is a team total for the night. The NBA recap does not split that total by quarter, so it cannot be assigned to the 23-0 stretch.

Boston’s offense had two different stories

George scored 38 points in his Celtics debut, the highest total by a player in his first game with Boston, according to the NBA. He shot 12-for-21 overall and 7-for-12 from three. His three-pointers helped build the 22-point lead. The opening game therefore contained a notable performance even as the final stretch went Detroit’s way.

Jayson Tatum had 13 points on 6-for-23 shooting and missed all seven three-point attempts, but he recorded 11 assists. The Associated Press noted that Tatum was preparing for his first full season since an Achilles tendon tear in May 2025. One game cannot separate how much came from recovery, shot variance, Detroit’s defense or early-season timing. The Celtics coach told the NBA that Tatum’s passing and decision-making still mattered, even while the shots missed.

The AP capsule also records two points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half. That half-wide stat describes more time than Detroit’s five-minute run, so it adds context about Boston’s scoring without isolating why the lead changed.

A comeback is a sequence, not a season forecast

Detroit’s 22-point recovery was its largest on the first day of an NBA season since 1997-98, according to the NBA recap. That is a precise historical comparison with a limited scope. It records the size and timing of a comeback on an opening day. It does not rank the team against every comeback in league history, and it does not show how often a group can repeat the same run.

For a reader returning to the matchup, the useful details are the ones that can be checked on film: when Green entered, how he responded after his first miss, where Robinson’s fourth-quarter points came from, and how Cunningham and Duren kept Detroit in the game. The night gives those players a shared reference point. Later games will show whether their roles persist and whether opponents can prevent the same mix of threes, free throws and second chances.