The key facts

  • The Pistons beat the Celtics 121:113, erasing a −22 deficit thanks to a 23:0 run in the fourth quarter
  • Paul George scored 38 points in his debut game for Boston — the best debut performance in club history
  • Also on opening night: the Knicks with LeBron James and the Sixers, plus the Spurs against Oklahoma City

Detroit's comeback in the season opener

The Detroit Pistons beat the visiting Boston team 121:113 on Tuesday in the first game of the NBA 2026/27 season, AFP reports. Duncan Robinson played a key role in the comeback with 21 points. The Pistons were led by Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren with 22 points apiece, Javonte Green added 19 off the bench, and Ausar Thompson posted a double-double — 11 points and 11 rebounds.

A 23:0 run in the fourth quarter

The Pistons trailed by as many as 22 points during the game but seized the initiative with a 23:0 run in the fourth quarter, during which Robinson scored 12 points to put Detroit ahead 112:99. Green's three-pointer with 6:41 remaining gave the Pistons the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter — 101:99 — and Boston never led again. “We just didn't play our basketball enough in the first half and had to step it up. There was a good conversation at halftime, we lit a bit of that fire,” AFP quoted Cunningham as saying. He also noted that the team needs to improve its chemistry over the course of the season.

Paul George's debut in Boston

Paul George scored 38 points — more than any player in a debut game for the Celtics. The 36-year-old forward, a nine-time All-Star, was traded from Philadelphia in July in a deal that sent Jaylen Brown to the Sixers. He also added five rebounds, five steals and three assists. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard scored 17 points each, and Jayson Tatum had 13, going 6 of 23 from the field. George scored 12 of his 17 first-half points in the second quarter, when Boston went into halftime leading 58:45 after a 15:0 run. Detroit responded with a 27:9 spurt in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 88:82 before the final period; Green made 5 of 8 three-pointers, Cunningham 5 of 9.

Opening night of the NBA's 81st season

According to AFP, the Pistons won the Eastern Conference regular season last year, while Boston was the finalist, setting a high bar for the opening of the league's 81st season. Later on Tuesday, LeBron James and his new Philadelphia teammates open on the road against New York, which will raise its 2026 championship banner to the rafters of Madison Square Garden. Victor Wembanyama and last year's playoff finalist San Antonio Spurs begin the season with a home game against Oklahoma City — a rematch of last season's Western Conference finals.