AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Jonas Jerebko only made one basket on Saturday night. It just happened to be the biggest of the game.

The Boston Celtics' reserve power forward fired in an 18-foot jumper in the closing seconds to spoil the Detroit Pistons' comeback bid. Boston led by as much as 16 in the fourth quarter but needed Jerebko's clutch shot with 10.7 seconds left to secure a 99-93 victory - its third straight win - on Saturday night at The Palace.

"We have a lot of guys that can make shots for us," said Celtics shooting guard Avery Bradley, who led a balanced attack with 18 points. "Jonas hitting that big jumper, I'm pretty sure no one expected that. But we all believe in him and we all knew that if he shot the ball, it had a chance of going in."

Celtics coach Brad Stevens called upon Jerebko, an ex-Piston, for defensive purposes. Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson made a 3-pointer to pull his team within two points before Jerebko's shot gave Boston some breathing room.

Jerebko, who has appeared in every game, played 10 minutes and took only one shot prior to his clutch jumper.

"One of the strengths of our team is we're very deep," Jerebko said. "You don't know when you're playing 20-plus (minutes) and when you're playing 10 minutes. You've always got to stay ready and that's what I tried to do today and it worked out."

As the play developed, the 6-foot-10 Jerebko found himself being guarded by reserve point guard Steve Blake.

"The spacing was excellent," Stevens said. "Detroit was scrambling and Jonas was the open guy. You find the open guy and the open guy has to make the shot."

Point guard Isaiah Thomas contributed 17 points and nine assists and reserve shooting guard Evan Turner supplied 13 points, five rebounds and three assists for Boston (17-13). The Celtics' starting frontcourt of Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson and Jae Crowder combined for 33 points and 23 rebounds.

Center Andre Drummond carried the Pistons (17-14) with 22 points and 22 rebounds, his fifth 20-20 game of the season. Jackson had 17 points, small forward Marcus Morris added 16 and rookie forward Stanley Jackson chipped in 12.

Detroit shot 38.5 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers, 13 in the first half.

"I thought we were very lethargic offensively," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They are a very good defensive team and if you don't play at a high energy level and move the ball crisply and cut hard and everything else, you're going to have trouble. We didn't do any of those things."

The teams met at The Palace on Dec. 16 with the Pistons prevailing 119-116 behind shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's career-high 31 points. Caldwell-Pope was held to six points on Saturday and committed five turnovers.

Jackson, who averages a team-high 20.3 points, was held in check by Bradley until the late going.

"You can't move the ball if you turn it over," Jackson said. "I think we're doing things we're not accustomed to, pushing the ball and playing too fast. We just have to be better."

The Celtics used an 8-1 spurt early in the third quarter to turn a six-point advantage into a 68-55 lead. Backup center Kelly Olynyk drained a 3-pointer later in the quarter to nudge the lead to 15 at 74-59.

Boston was still up 15 when the fourth quarter began. Center Tyler Zeller's jumper made it 80-64 before the Pistons reeled off nine straight points. But Detroit couldn't get closer than seven until Johnson hit a jumper with 1:01 left to pull within 93-88.

After a Celtics turnover, Jackson knocked down his 3-pointer. Jerebko then rescued his team.

NOTES: Celtics PG Marcus Smart, who missed his 18th straight game with a bone bruise on his left knee, could return to action against the New York Knicks on Sunday. "There's a chance he can play tomorrow. but it's not definitive," coach Brad Stevens said. ... The Celtics and Pistons are two of 10 Eastern Conference teams above .500. "The standings change every day," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We've played enough now to say there's a good chance it stays like that throughout most of the rest of the year. There's a lot of parity." ... Boston PF David Lee was sidelined by back spasms. ... Detroit won six of its last seven home games against the Celtics. ... Pistons SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been dealing with a soft tissue injury in his left leg, according to Van Gundy, but it hasn't kept him out of action.