The full list of players who got a career-high in points tonight for the Pistons:
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk: 21 points
Sekou Doumbouya: 24 points
Tony Snell: 6 points*
Thon Maker: 0 points*
*career-high not verified but (safely) assumed
With that many career nights from that many role-players, it’s no wonder that the Pistons came into Boston, took a dump all over the parquet floor, and then rubbed Marcus Smart’s face all in it.
Realistically, this game was over right when Mykhailiuk hit a three from well beyond half-court to end the third quarter and give the Pistons a nine point lead. I think the Pistons commentators get a little annoyed when their players hold on to the ball slightly too long on those heaves so that the miss doesn’t count against their stats, as well they should, since both those commentators remember Rasheed Wallace’s game-winner from near where Mykhailiuk hit his. They sounded very pleased that Mykhailiuk actually took the shot this time.
This is why you always shoot those shots: sometimes they go in, and even an extremely low success rate gives you some bonus points once in a while. There have been some rumblings that the NBA will consider not counting heaves against players’ shooting percentages, which would hopefully lead to more moments like this.
Mykhailiuk also hit a bunch of other threes, some technical free-throws (the clip of Marcus Smart shirtless while being ejected will forever live on in this video), and had a bunch of assists. All that combined makes this his best game ever, and I say: “frickin’ finally”. This guy has such a nice stroke and decent athleticism that I can’t believe this is the first time he’s scored 20. Can someone tell him to be more aggressive trying to score the ball?