BOSTON (AP) _ Antoine Walker scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half Monday night as the Boston Celtics rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 99-87 for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Paul Pierce scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter for Boston, which had a 38-12 run in the third and fourth quarters to turn a 16-point deficit to a 10-point lead, 92-82, with 3:28 to play.

Walker hit six 3-pointers and also had nine assists before he left to a standing ovation when he was ejected for his second technical foul with 48 seconds left in the game.

Jerry Stackhouse, the NBA's leading scorer with a 30 point average coming into the night, picked up his third foul with 6:53 left in the first quarter and didn't play the rest of the half. He finished with just 12 points on 6-of-17 shooting _ his second-lowest output of the season.

Chucky Atkins scored 20 points and Ben Wallace had 10 rebounds for Detroit, which has lost 14 of its last 17 games and has not won consecutive games since Christmas.

The Pistons posted a 13-2 run to take a 17-6 lead, and led by as many as 16 in the first quarter.

Detroit led 70-54 late in the third before Boston scored 12 of the last 14 points in the quarter. The Celtics then scored 12 of the first 14 points in the fourth, tying the game on a 3-pointer by Pierce and taking their first lead of the game when Walker forced a goaltending call before Pierce hit another jumper to make it 78-74 with 8:24 left. Notes:@ The Celtics signed Milt Palacio, a surprising contributor to the Boston Celtics' injury-strapped point guard position, for the rest of the season. His second and final 10-day contract was set to expire Monday. By keeping him, the Celtics must pay him $198,000. ... Former Celtic Dana Barros was greeted warmly when he came into the game late in the first quarter. ... Kenny Anderson returned after missing seven games with a strained right ankle. He had one points and three assists in 21 minutes. ... Stackhouse has led the Pistons in scoring for 39 of the team's 43 games. His lowest total is 11, on Dec. 5 against Vancouver. ... Boston picked up three technicals in the third, but Stackhouse missed all three foul shots. ... Detroit was called for five illegal defenses.