Javonte Green Sparks Pistons' 22-Point Rally Over Celtics

Javonte Green didn't play a second of the first half, then dropped 19 points after the break as the Detroit Pistons stormed back from 22 down to beat the Boston Celtics 121-113 on Tuesday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena. Green hit five 3-pointers in eight tries off the bench and finished plus-21 in 18 minutes.

Opening day of the 2026-27 NBA season got a comeback right away. Boston led 72-50 early in the third quarter after Paul George hit three 3-pointers in less than a minute. NBA.com called it the largest opening-day comeback since 1997, when the Celtics rallied from 20-plus down to beat the Bulls.

How Javonte Green and the Pistons flipped it

Detroit cut the hole to six after three quarters, then took over the fourth, 39-25. The Pistons went on an 18-0 run in under three minutes and stretched it to 23-3, per Local 4 in Detroit. Green made a go-ahead 3, Jalen Duren added a three-point play, and Duncan Robinson's 3 put Detroit up 107-99 with 5:10 left, per the AP. Green's fifth 3 made it a 13-point game with 3:33 to go.

"We had a good talk at halftime, and we lit that fire a little bit better," Cade Cunningham said, per NBA.com.

If you were watching from the couch, the moment to remember is Green getting all the time in the world on that fifth 3 while the arena got loud.

The rest of the Detroit box

Cunningham and Duren each scored 22. Cunningham added eight assists and Duren grabbed nine boards. Robinson had 21 on 5 of 9 from deep, and Ausar Thompson put up 11 points and 11 rebounds. Detroit won the glass 59-45 and the paint 44-34, and went 11 of 22 from 3 in the second half, per NBA.com.

This is the Pistons team that won 60 games last season, and the second half looked like it.

Paul George's big debut, Tatum's rough one

George scored 38 in 31 minutes, the most ever by a Celtic in his team debut, passing Kristaps Porzingis's 30 from 2023, per Sporting News. He went 12 of 21, 7 of 12 from 3, with five steals, and moved into eighth all time in made 3-pointers, passing Kyle Korver.

Jayson Tatum, starting his first full season since tearing his Achilles in May 2025, per the AP, had 13 points and 11 assists but shot 6 of 23 and 0 of 7 from deep. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard scored 17 apiece.

Celtics fans got one great reason to watch and one reason to worry, and it all came down to that fourth quarter.

What's next

Detroit starts a three-game road trip Friday at Miami, then plays at Philadelphia on Sunday and at New York next Tuesday. Boston hosts the Knicks on Friday.

Green played 18 minutes Tuesday and was the best player on the floor after halftime. If J.B. Bickerstaff gives him more run in Miami, he's the add for fantasy managers chasing threes, and Tatum managers just need one clean shooting night to breathe again.