The Celtics have now had their full starting lineup available for any game during their eight-game winning streak but that did not stop them from making some history on Friday night. After dominating the Pistons with a 129-102 win while down three rotation players, Boston pulled off their 15th 25-point win of the year.
That win puts them in a tie with the Bucks (1970-71) and Spurs (2015-16) for the most 25-point wins in a season with 15 according to statistician Dick Lipe. Boston still has 12 games remaining in the regular season to top that mark and take the throne on their own.
The feat is even more impressive given how shorthanded Boston has been lately as they rest up some of their top talent for the playoffs. Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum all sat out Friday’s win but Boston still had five players finish in double figures led by Jaylen Brown with 33 points.
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“Flexibility and variety are things coaches love to have and feel good about going into the playoffs,” Brown told reporters in Detroit per NBC Sports Boston. “Be able to have confidence in multiple lineups, multiple ways to win a game. We want to give Joe as much confidence as he can have going into the playoffs and we want to be able to play and win in different ways.”
The Celtics also improved their scoring margin on the season to +11.7 points per game, which is the fourth-best mark in NBA history. Boston is within striking distance of the NBA record which was set by the 1971-72 Lakers (+12.3). The Celtics won’t have much incentive to reach that mark after clinching homecourt advantage in the next couple of weeks but the team is humming well enough where it might not matter even as regulars sit out more like Friday night.
“The guys did a great job just finding different ways to impact the game defensively and playing different coverages and playing connected defense,” Mazzulla told reporters.
The Celtics will go for their nine consecutive win on Saturday night on the tail end of a back-to-back against the Bulls.
