Kevin Garnett, Celtics
88-79 win vs Pistons
26 pts, 11-17 FG

Paul Pierce, Celtics
88-79 win vs Pistons
22 pts, 9-18 FG

Rajon Rondo, Celtics
88-79 win vs Pistons
11 pts, 5-9 FG

Tuesday night's Stat Sheet Stuffer was the only player, believe it or not, to record a double-double: Antonio McDyess. The Dyess Man, who is totally jocking Richard Hamilton's style with that mask, was one of four Pistons in double figures with 14, but the only one with double-digit boards (11). Kevin Garnett was in the running, too, with plenty of points, but he fell a rebound shy of doubling up.

Rasheed Wallace, Pistons
88-79 loss at Celtics
11 pts, 3-12 FG, 0-3 3-pt FG

Richard Hamilton, Pistons
88-79 loss at Celtics
15 pts, 5-13 FG

Ray Allen, Celtics
88-79 win vs Pistons
9 pts, 3-10 FG

Just hours (well, 48 of them) (but it seemed like less) after a draining and dramatic Game 7 win over the Cavaliers, the Celtics were back in action on Tuesday night, hosting Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It was presumed that Boston had spent itself en route, having needed 14 games to advance. This, in contrast to the Pistons, the senators of the conference finals (what with their six-year seat), who played in only 11 games on the road to the current round.

But, the Celtics showed no consequential signs of fatigue as they beat the rested Pistons, 88-79, to take a 1-0 series lead and improve their home record in the postseason to 9-0. (It's Important to note, though, that their futility on the road inflated this number; the Spurs are 6-0 at home so far and the Lakers are 5-0.) Paul Pierce scored only half of what he did in Game 7, finishing with 22 points on Tuesday, but this was permissible for Boston in part because Kevin Garnett scored twice as many points as he did in Game 7, finishing with 26. The Celtics led comfortably (read: by 10 or so, which is plenty for a defensive game) for most of the second half after outscoring the Pistons 28-17 in the third quarter, and bulding a 44-22 advantage in the paint.

You know what's hard? Remembering which of the following is more likely: getting eaten by shark, getting struck by lightining, dying in a plane crash, or winning the lottery. (Though if it were a matter of preference and not probability, these four might be easier to keep in order: 1. Lotto 2-4. Pass.) But in the utopia that is the NBA – as opposed to the scary and imperfect world outside of it – you can win the lottery even when you have just a 1.7 percent chance of doing so.

That's what the Bulls did. They sent their Executive Vice President of Business Operations, Steve Schanwald, to Secaucus to bring them back the No. 1 pick in the draft – even though eight teams had a better chance of getting it – and their long-job-titled good luck charm did exactly that. Which may mean two things: Chicago native Derrick Rose is coming back home, and Michael Beasley is on Craigslist looking for apartment listings in South Beach (the Heat landed the second pick). Elsewhere, the Timberwolves will draft third; the Sonics, fourth; and even though Sean ' Still the Homies Call Me Lucky Lefty ' Carter wanted a shot at the top spot ... the lefty had no such luck. (He did, however, find time to dap David Stern.)