Pistons storm back from 22-point hole to spoil Paul George’s historic Celtics debut, win NBA’s season opener

Paul George made history in his Boston Celtics debut. But it wasn’t enough to fend of the determined Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons looked down and out at home in Tuesday’s NBA season opener as the Celtics opened a 72-50 third-quarter lead. But they stormed back to secure a stunning, 121-113 win.

Sparked by Duncan Robinson and Javonte Green off the bench, the Pistons caught fire from 3 and reeled off a 23-0 fourth-quarter run to turn a 99-89 deficit into a 112-99 lead.

The dizzied Celtics were out of responses.

A Derrick White floater stopped the bleeding with 3:18 remaining. But the damage had been done. Detroit held on down the stretch to fire the opening salvo in what projects to be a highly competitive race in the Eastern Conference.

The win spoiled a historic effort from Paul George. George led the Celtics to their 22-point lead and etched his name into Boston’s record book in the third quarter of his Celtics debut.

With his 31st point in the third quarter, George set the scoring record for a player making his Celtics debut, topping Kristaps Porziņģis’ 30 points in his first game with Boston in 2023. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the third to extend the Boston lead. He finished with 38 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals as the game’s leading scorer while shooting 12 of 21 from the field and 7 of 12 from 3.

But it was Detroit’s 3-point shooting and stifling defense down the stretch that made the difference in the game.

Robinson shot 5 of 9 from 3 in a 21-point effort. Green shot 5 of 8 from 3 off the bench and scored all 17 of his points in the second half after not playing in the first. A Green 3 off a Pistons defense stop capped Detroit’s 23-0 fourth-quarter run.

Javonte Green misses the shot, Jayson Tatum misses the layup on the fastbreak, slow to return on defense, and Javonte hits the triple to put the Pistons up 13 pic.twitter.com/f69KksDpbd

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 20, 2026

In the end, the Pistons shot 15 of 40 (37.5%) from long distance after a 4-of-22 (18.2%) start to secure the comeback win.

Jalen Duren tallied 22 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal while shooting 8 of 13 from the floor in a strong first effort since his protracted offseason contract standoff. Cade Cunningham, coming off a First-team All-NBA season, matched Duren with a team-high 22 points to go with 8 assists and 4 rebounds.

While George feasted, Jayson Tatum struggled against Detroit’s stingy defense. The Celtics star finished with 13 points and 11 assists. He shot just 6 of 23 from the field and missed all seven of his 3s. He scored just two points after halftime after posting 11 in the first half.

White added 17 points and eight assists for the Celtics, while Payton Pritchard posted 17 points and four assists off the bench.

The matinee in Detroit was the first of a three-game slate for the NBA’s opening day ahead of another Eastern Conference showcase between the 76ers and reigning champion Knicks and a nightcap between the Western Conference powers Thunder and Spurs.

The Celtics will face another tough test on Friday at home against the Knicks. The Pistons will visit Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Heat Friday night.