Boston @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2017 ) Detroit 118, Boston 108

The Detroit Pistons are losers of five straight and have the misfortune of following the defending NBA champions with the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons, who dropped a 102-98 decision to the Golden State Warriors at home on Friday, will try to snap the slide when they host the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

Detroit is averaging 97 points during the five-game slide -- down from a season mark of 104 -- and shooting guard Avery Bradley believes both sides of the ball are to blame. "I think it's both (offense and defense)," Bradley told reporters. "I believe that our offense gets off and on, so the more stops that we're able to get, and get out in transition, I feel like is beneficial for us. Our defense at times isn't good. We exchange baskets with teams and we can't be a team like that. We have to be a team that gets three or four stops throughout the game in order for us to give ourselves a chance to be in the game or win games." The Celtics had a four-game winning streak come to an end with a 105-102 loss in San Antonio on Friday to begin a three-game road trip. Boston's previous loss came at home to the Pistons, 118-108 on Nov. 27 -- a game in which the Celtics allowed the Pistons to shoot 51.8 percent from the field.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, NBCS Boston, FS Detroit

ABOUT THE CELTICS (22-5): Kyrie Irving scored 36 points in Friday's loss and continued a trend of strong fourth-quarter performances, though he was just off the mark on a 3-point attempt that could have sent the game to overtime. "I thought it was cash money," Irving told reporters of the attempt. "I thought it was going to hit the bottom of the net, but obviously I didn't put enough on it." Irving was held to 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting in the Nov. 27 loss to the Pistons but averaged 29.2 points on 57.1 percent shooting over the next five games.

ABOUT THE PISTONS (14-11): Detroit's problems scoring points on Friday had a lot to do with the fact that they had 15 shots blocked by the Warriors. "You get
five or six blocked, that's just great defense," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters. "You get 16 blocked against Milwaukee (on Nov. 15), 15 blocks, that's bad decision making. We've just got to make better decisions. They're blocking threes -- guys flying at you -- you've got to be able to shot fake. Go to the basket, help's coming, you've got to be able to find people. We've got to do a better job of making those plays." Detroit only had four shots blocked in the Nov. 27 meeting with Boston.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Celtics C Al Horford scored a season-low two points on 1-of-6 shooting at San Antonio.

2. Pistons SF Stanley Johnson is 1-of-13 from the field over the last two games and is shooting 25 percent from the floor over the last five.

3. Boston is making its first trip to Detroit's new downtown arena after winning its last four visits to the Palace at Auburn Hills.

PREDICTION: Celtics 108, Pistons 101