Javonte Green Scores 19 After Sitting the First Half in a 22-Point Pistons Comeback

Photo: NBA.com. Javonte Green, Detroit Pistons forward.

Javonte Green did not play a minute of the first half Tuesday, then scored 19 points in 17:49 as the Detroit Pistons came back from 72-50 down to beat the Boston Celtics 121-113 in the NBA's season opener at Little Caesars Arena. J.B. Bickerstaff sent Green in for John Collins with 7:26 left in the third quarter and Detroit down 74-53, and the 22-point rally that followed is the largest on the first day of an NBA season since 1997-98, per the league.

The sub

Collins started and finished minus-13. Green missed his first 3, and then scored 11 points between the 5:09 and 3:06 marks of the third: two free throws and three 3-pointers, two of them off Paul Reed passes. Boston's lead went from 78-64 to 81-75 in that window. Green finished 5-of-8 from deep, tied his career high for threes, and posted a plus-21, the best number for either team.

Bickerstaff made the same call twice. Early in the fourth he pulled Green for Jalen Duren at 96-87, and when he needed a shooter again at 7:07, Collins came out and Green went back in. Green's first shot of that second stint was the go-ahead 3 at 6:41 that made it 101-99.

"We have a high-level trust in everybody on our roster," Bickerstaff said. "He could've sat over there (angry) because he didn't play in the first half. But that's not the makeup of this group." Green's own version was shorter. "My role tonight was just going out there, changing the energy of the game," he said.

Ten shots, zero points

The Celtics still led 99-89 after a Derrick White 3 with 8:19 left. Detroit then scored the next 23 points, taking a 112-99 lead at 3:33. By The Dyme's count from the official play-by-play, Boston went 0-for-10 from the floor during the run and did not attempt a free throw. Paul George missed four of those shots, Jayson Tatum and White two each, and Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman one each. Four of the ten were 3s, three of them pull-ups.

Duncan Robinson scored 12 of Detroit's 23. He hit three 3s and went 3-for-3 at the line after Hauser fouled him on a 3, his second trip of the quarter on a fouled 3. Green added six, Duren a three-point play and Cade Cunningham a step-back jumper. Robinson finished with 15 points in the fourth and 21 for the afternoon on 5-of-9 from three.

Detroit committed two fouls in those five minutes, both away from a shot, and sent nobody to the line. Ausar Thompson spent the stretch on Tatum. "You get him in one-on-one situations, you're going to be in for a long night no matter who you are," Bickerstaff said of Thompson, who had 11 points, 11 rebounds and a plus-12.

George had 38 and sat twice

George set the Celtics debut record with 38 points, passing Kristaps Porzingis' 30 from 2023, on 12-of-21 shooting and 7-of-12 from three. Early in the third he hit three straight 3s in 52 seconds of game clock, the last one making it 72-50. This was the player Boston got from Philadelphia for Jaylen Brown.

Joe Mazzulla sat him with 5:33 left in the third and Boston up 78-64, and by The Dyme's count Detroit won the rest of the quarter 18-10. George sat again early in the fourth, and by The Dyme's count Boston scored three points in that 2:29. He checked back in at 7:07, Detroit took the lead 26 seconds later, and he missed his next four shots. He finished with five steals and five fouls.

Tatum's 0-for-7

Tatum, set for his first full season since tearing his Achilles in May 2025, went 6-of-23 with 13 points and 11 assists. He was 0-for-7 from three and 1-for-10 with two points after halftime, per NBA.com. Mazzulla defended the volume. "If he's open, shoot it. I don't care if he's 0-for-10," he said, and pointed to the 11 assists.

By The Dyme's count, seven of Tatum's 11 assists set up 3s, and four went to George.

What carries to Friday

Detroit won the second half 76-55 and, by The Dyme's math, outscored Boston 71-41 after the 72-50 mark. The Pistons shot 28-of-32 at the line to Boston's 16-of-21 and won second-chance points 24-16. Duren, who missed the first week of camp during contract talks, had 22 and nine. Cunningham had 22 and eight assists, 14 of the points after halftime.

Detroit plays at Miami on Friday. Boston hosts the Knicks, with Payton Pritchard coming off 17 points.

Photo: NBA.com / Getty Images. Cade Cunningham dunks against the Boston Celtics in the season opener at Little Caesars Arena, Oct. 20, 2026.

Sources

• NBA.com game page and official play-by-play, Celtics at Pistons (121-113 final, linescore 28-30-30-25 and 27-18-37-39, Green check-in at 7:26 of the third for Collins at 74-53, Green 11 points from 5:09 to 3:06 of the third, Reed assists, substitution times for Green, Collins and George, 23-0 run shot-by-shot, Boston 0-for-10 with no free-throw attempts during the run, George three 3s at 9:24, 8:57 and 8:32 of the third, go-ahead Green 3 at 6:41). Oct. 20, 2026.
• NBA official scorer's report, final box (minutes, shooting, plus-minus, fouls and steals for every player, free throws 28-of-32 and 16-of-21, second-chance points 24-16, biggest lead 22, attendance 20,178). Oct. 20, 2026.
• AP via NBA.com (Larry Lage): Pistons rally to beat Celtics 121-113 (Green 19 after not playing in the first half, George 38 as the most by a Celtic in his debut, George acquired from Philadelphia for Jaylen Brown, Tatum 6-of-23 and first full season since the May 2025 Achilles tear, 72-50 third-quarter lead, Pistons at Miami and Celtics hosting the Knicks Friday). Oct. 20, 2026.
• NBA.com (Jeff Zillgitt): 5 takeaways, Pistons use 23-0 run (largest first-day comeback since 1997-98, 99-89 with 8:19 left and 112-99 at 3:33, Bickerstaff quotes on Green and Thompson, Robinson 15 in the fourth and fouled twice on 3s, Porzingis' 30 in 2023, George 17 in the first half and 14 in the third, Tatum 1-for-10 after halftime, Mazzulla quote, Duren missed the first week of camp, Cunningham 14 after halftime). Oct. 20, 2026.
• NBC Sports: Pistons erase 22-point deficit (second half 76-55, Green career-high-tying five 3s in 17 minutes, Green quote). Oct. 20, 2026.
• ESPN: Pistons open season with 22-point comeback vs. Celtics (largest first-day comeback in the play-by-play era). Oct. 20, 2026.