The Detroit Pistons came away with a big 87-85 win over the Boston Celtics. The Pistons sealed the victory when, with the score tied at 85 near the end of the fourth quarter, Chauncey Billups drew a foul on Tony Allen with less than a second left on a jumpshot. Billups drained both, and the Pistons handed the Celtics their first home loss.
The game was a hard fought game with both teams playing excellent defense. The Celtics had a decent lead in the third and fourth quarters, but the Pistons brought Lindsey Hunter in off the bench, who then sparked a big run for the Pistons with his on-ball pressure. The Celtics closed the gap at the end with some clutch shooting from Ray Allen, but the Pistons finally sealed the deal.
It was interesting to see that the Celtics end game offense consisted mostly of 1-on-1 isolation for either Pierce or Allen. Garnett didn’t play a big role, and there wasn’t much ball movement to get an open look except on Eddie House’s 3-pointer. Rajon Rondo had an excellent game, repeatedly penetrating the defense and making the right passes for 7 assists, while also hitting 7 of his 10 shots. The Celtics only shot 13-21 from the free throw line, so they easily could have won the game. Paul Pierce was also ineffective, scoring only 11 points on 16 shots. Ray Allen had a great night, hitting big shots from deep and throwing down a huge reverse dunk that energized both his team and the fans.
For the Pistons, despite poor offensive outings from both Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace (combined 4-20 from the field), the Pistons kept it close by shooting 45% on 3-pointers (9-20) and 87% from the stripe (20-23). Jason Maxiell also had key offensive rebounds down the stretch and ended the game with a +11 in the box score, demonstrating his impact.
Moving forward from this game, the Celtics probably can learn more from this game about what to do in big game situations, who to turn to for big shots, and how to make key stops late. The Pistons have been on the big stage many times before, so there isn’t much for them to learn from this game. To them, it’s just another regular season game. Both teams have big expectations for the playoffs, and with Cleveland slumping, Chicago struggling, and Miami unhealthy, look for these two to meet again in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Orlando remains the only other team right now in contention for the Eastern crown, but it remains to be seen if they can maintain their early season momentum. Nobody can contain Dwight Howard, but both the Pistons and Celtics could probably shut down the rest of the team, so the Magic will need Rashard Lewis to step up. The Magic also have very little depth, and considering how many minutes the starters are playing, they may break down through the length of the season.
