We can't get too ahead of ourselves: It is still the regular season but you have to admit, last night's 90-78 Celtics win over the Pistons was pretty awesome. Boston (47-12) not only clinched the season series with Detroit (44-17), 2-1, they also wrapped up a playoff spot (on March 5!) and put the Pistons five games back in the loss column as the teams vie for the top seed in the East.
Is their any doubt that the Pistons and Celtics will meet in the playoffs, most likely in the Eastern Conference Finals? Sure, the Cavs will always have a chance with LeBron in the lineup (who dropped 50 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists on the hapless Knicks last night) but Boston and Detroit are two of the best teams in the game. Plus, the East is a joke.
After the game, the veteran Pistons-who have been to five straight Eastern Conference Finals (including two NBA Finals and one title), downplayed this loss and why wouldn't they? There's still plenty of time left before the games really matter. Even though Detroit is so tough, Boston would obviously prefer to have home-court since the Pistons are very hard to beat at the Palace.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, Detroit came out real flat in the first quarter as Boston jumped out to a 23-13 lead after one. The teams both put up 24 in the second and the C's held a 47-37 lead at the break.
Everyone knew the Pistons would find a way to climb back and not surprisingly they did just that in the third quarter (30-22). The Celts deserve a ton of credit though for hanging tough and shutting down the Pistons in the fourth quarter (21-11).
Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 31 points (including 12 straight in the second quarter), grabbed six boards and dished out three assists. The other star of the game was Kendrick Perkins, who had 10 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and two blocks. Rajon Rondo scored 16 points with five assists while Paul Pierce scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and had three assists. The Truth also hit the biggest shot of the game: a 3-pointer which put Boston up four late in the fourth. Ray Allen had just three points but submitted eight rebounds, five assists and no turnovers so he wasn't completely useless.
Chauncey Billups (7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Rasheed Wallace each had a team-high 23 points. Billups took over in the third, scoring 18 points as he abused Rondo while also getting some help from the officials who gave him an absurd 12 free-throws in the frame. Richard Hamilton scored 15 but the Celts held Tayshaun Prince to seven points (10 rebounds, 5 assists) and Antonio McDyess to five.
Outside of KG and Perk, and thinking about the possible playoff matchup, the biggest storyline to take from the game was the weakness of the Pistons bench. The Celtics bench (on not their best night by any means) outscored them 15-5 for the game. Obviously, Detroit will usually get more production than that but it bodes very well for the C's (especially with Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown waiting to debut) chances of getting out of the East. Glen Davis had seven points and four rebounds, he was by far the best player off either bench.
Boston shot 46.1% and held Detroit to 36.4%. The Celtics owned the glass (50-38) and were more unselfish (23-16). Even in a relatively low-scoring game, turnovers were at a premium, Boston had 11 and Detroit only had eight.
Unfortunately, the two teams won't meet again in the regular season which is a shame given how weak the Eastern Conference is this year. There's something about this Celtics team that makes you love their chances in their playoffs. They have the right combination of young guys and hungry veterans. It should be an exciting final six weeks of the season and playoffs (for the first time in three seasons).
Chicago comes to the Garden tomorrow night. It's also the last game of the season series (Boston is up 2-0) and the C's should beat the disappointing Bulls.
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