For the vast majority of NBA teams, playing without four catalysts would be a major cause for concern.
For the Celtics, it was business as usual Monday night with Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Sam Hauser sidelined.
They still had Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, which never hurts. They were also playing the Pistons, which made life a smidgen easier.
Brown racked up 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, and White added 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double, fueling Boston to a 119-94 triumph at TD Garden. The Celtics (54-14) built a 59-46 halftime edge and pulled away from the Pistons (12-56) to extend their lead over the Bucks to a whopping 10 games with 14 remaining.
Payton Pritchard, White, Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet got the start. Porzingis racked up 8 points and 5 rebounds early before sitting out the rest of the half as he eases his way back.
Kornet protected the rim, Pritchard (23 points, 7 assists) attacked the basket and Brown showed off his left hand inside, helping the Celtics build a 31-28 edge through 1. Boston shot 50 percent from the floor and 50 percent from 3, but Detroit stayed afloat behind Malachi Flynn and Jaden Ivey (21 points on the night).
White continued to spray the ball around the perimeter and bury shots himself, finishing a masterful half with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists (plus-17). He took it upon himself to play aggressively with Tatum and Holiday out.
Brown provided a cool 17 before the break and got just about wherever he wanted. Jaden Springer added a tough bucket late with a hand in his face after a hustle rebound and swatted a shot at the other end to punctuate a strong half.
Xavier Tillman continued to show his versatility defensively, staying in front of guards and bodying bigs at the rim. The Celtics took a 59-46 cushion into halftime with momentum on their side, thanks to a total team effort and a strong defensive second quarter.
Brown and Porzingis (20 points, 8 rebounds) continued to cook early in the third, then back-to-back dimes from Pritchard – the first behind his back to Tillman, and the second to Svi Mykhailiuk for 3 – helped the Celtics extend the margin to 92-66 through three.
With White inching closer to the triple-double, the Celtics made a conscious effort to shoot when he passed them the ball. Eventually, White found Pritchard, who buried a 3 to take White and the Celtics to the promised land.
Boston has won six straight and welcomes the Bucks to town Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
