Celtics collapse in fourth quarter to spoil Paul George's debut

The NBA season got underway on Tuesday afternoon, with the new look Boston Celtics in Detroit to take on the Pistons, last year's No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. It was the first game for Boston without Jaylen Brown, but veteran Paul George, who the team acquired in the trade with Philadelphia, had a incredibly impressive showing in his first game. Boston looked to be in control throughout the first three quarters of the game, but a fourth quarter collapse put them in a bind that they could not recover from. Detroit used a 23-0 run in the final quarter to complete a massive comeback, and it was a disappointing ending to what looked like an incredible debut for Paul George.Final score: Detroit Pistons 121, Boston Celtics 113Keys to the game:Highlight of the game: Paul George sets Celtics record for most points in franchise debutPaul George has set the record for most points in a Celtics debut, surpassing Kristaps Porziņģis’ 30 points in 2023.George has 31 points with the third quarter still in progress. pic.twitter.com/Jcal9U7Ek9— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 20, 2026What's next: This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics collapse in fourth quarter to spoil Paul George's debut