The Detroit Pistons, first in the East, visit the Boston Celtics, third in the East, in a game streamed nationally on Peacock. Here's our prediction.

The Pistons are 5-1 in their last six games, including wins over the Hawks and Heat, and they’re 8-3 on their travels this year. One of those losses came in a nail-biter at TD Garden in November, where Cade Cunningham & Co. almost overcame Boston's 47% night from 3-point range.

However, the matchup was a reminder of the best the Eastern Conference has to offer Boston right now as trade season begins. Boston fell to 1-2 on the season against the Pistons with the 112-105 defeat but there was a consensus that this game resembled a playoff contest.

Thanks to Brown's big half, the Celtics took a 57-53 lead into halftime, but they fell behind late and couldn't catch the Pistons.

Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ loss on Monday night:

The Detroit Pistons have won five of their last six matchups, most recently defeating the Atlanta Hawks 142-115 at home last Friday. It was the team’s largest win of the season, and the bench scored a season-high 77 points in the win. 12 players scored at least 7 points, making the Pistons the third team in NBA history to accomplish that feat.

Boston didn’t walk away completely dissatisfied with Monday night’s loss to Detroit — its second straight defeat.