Celtics-Pistons Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 18 2012 11:29PM

The Detroit Pistons seem to have turned their season around behind tremendous improvements on both sides of the court.

The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, suddenly find themselves in need of a spark.

After prevailing at TD Garden earlier this week, the Pistons look to add to the Celtics woes as the teams conclude their regular-season series Sunday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Detroit (10-22), which started 4-20, has since won six of eight - including Wednesday's 98-88 victory at Boston (15-14). The Pistons are averaging 96.1 points and holding opponents to just 44.0 percent from the floor during their run - significantly better than their season marks of 88.6 and 47.4, respectively.

"There's been a lot of improvement since Christmas," said rookie Brandon Knight. "Our offense has been pretty good all along, but we're playing a lot better on the defensive end."

The Celtics, in contrast, haven't been able to get much going of late. Boston has dropped four of five while managing just 84.8 points per contest.

One night after falling to Detroit, coach Doc Rivers' team opened a five-game trek with Thursday's 89-80 loss to Chicago. The Celtics were outscored 29-21 over the final 12 minutes and outrebounded 52-37 for the game.

"Fourth quarters have been our quarters," Ray Allen said. "We get to the fourth quarter and regardless of what's happened in the game we pull it out. We execute offensively. We know who we're going to scoring wise. But right now it's up in the air."

After scoring a career-high 35 points Wednesday, Rajon Rondo had 17 against the Bulls. Kevin Garnett, who sat against the Pistons with a hip flexor, returned to post 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics may need to pick up the pace if they hope to keep up with Detroit. The Pistons are coming off their highest scoring output of the season, defeating Sacramento 114-108 on Friday.

"We continued to fight," coach Lawrence Frank, who watched his team battle back from an 11-point deficit, told the Pistons' official website. "That's an encouraging thing. We're going to have to continue to raise our level of play on both ends, but from a standpoint of having resolve, we're getting more and more along the lines of establishing that we're not just going away. We're going to just keep fighting."

Rodney Stuckey led the way with a season-best 36 points while Tayshaun Prince scored 22 to go along with 10 boards. Knight recorded 23 points and dished out a season-high 10 assists for his second double-double.

"I love playing with Brandon, and he is improving every day," said Stuckey, who's averaging 28.0 points on 56.3 percent shooting in his last three games. "We're going to have a lot of years together, and it is only going to get better."

Detroit has gone just 4-11 over its last 15 regular-season meetings with Boston. The Pistons, who have split their last four home matchups with the Celtics, took the last one 104-92 on Dec. 29, 2010, overcoming 33 points from Paul Pierce.

Detroit hasn't defeated Boston twice in the same season since taking all four games in 2006-07.

Pistons beat Celtics 96-81 for 7th win in 9 games

Posted Feb 19 2012 10:59PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Amid stories about Jeremy Lin and the upcoming All-Star game, the Detroit Pistons have quietly become one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

Greg Monroe had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Rodney Stuckey added 16 points to lead the surging Detroit Pistons over the Boston Celtics 96-81 on Sunday night.

Detroit has now won seven of its last nine games, including two victories in five days over the Celtics, who were missing Kevin Garnett (personal reasons) and Brandon Bass (left knee).

"I think we've found our effort, focus and intensity," said Monroe, who had his 16th double-double of the season. "Everyone on this team understands their role now, and we're all working."

The streak started at about the same time Jason Maxiell replaced Ben Wallace in the starting lineup. Maxiell had 10 rebounds and six points against the Celtics.

"Max had an unbelievable impact on this game with his hustle and work on the boards," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "But that has also let us set up the rotation so that we are getting great minutes off the bench from Jonas (Jerebko) and Body (Wallace)."

Without Garnett and Bass, former Pistons player Chris Wilcox was inserted into the starting lineup.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 18 points.

"We just pretty much gave them everything they wanted tonight," a frustrated Pierce said. "They were able to run the ball on the break, get offensive rebounds on top of that, and we turned the ball over far too many times."

The Pistons scored 40 points off 24 turnovers, while the Celtics got only 13 points off Detroit's 15 giveaways. The Pistons also had a 29-6 edge in second-chance points.

"I thought the second unit came in and changed the game in the second quarter," Frank said. "They turned up the intensity, and we were able to maintain that for the rest of the night.

"Look at the points off turnovers, free throws and second-chance points. That's all effort."

The Pistons led 55-42 at halftime, but they could have been ahead by 20. Detroit took 29 free throws in the first half - the Celtics had just 10 - but missed 12 of them.

Doc Rivers and Wilcox both picked up technical fouls in the first half for arguing calls.

"At halftime, we were shooting 50 percent, they were shooting 38 percent, and we were down 13," Rivers said. "You look at that and you think you are playing good defense, but we were turning the ball over and giving up offensive rebounds and we fouled every possession. The

fact we were only down 13 was a miracle."

Boston finally started getting to the line in the third quarter, pulling to 59-54 before Jermaine O'Neal missed a pair of free throws that could have made it a three-point game.

That seemed to take the wind out of Boston's sails, and the Pistons needed less than three minutes to move the lead back to 12. Moments later, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo picked up two technicals in a span of five seconds and was ejected.

"Boston hit us first in the second half, and we staggered, but we didn't go down," Frank said. "I thought that was the key. We came right back and went after them again."

Even with the Pistons missing five more free throws, they led 75-61 at the end of the third.

"We made the one energy run to start the third and got it to five, but then we had another couple horrendous turnovers," Rivers said. "At the end of the day, I have to do a better job with this group."

NOTES: Rivers said he knew on Thursday that Garnett would be unavailable, but doesn't know if he will rejoin the team in time for Monday's game in Dallas. ... The Pistons finished with an 46-15 edge in free-throw attempts. ... Detroit won 98-88 in Boston on Wednesday. ... Rapper Flo Rida's halftime show helped the Pistons sell out their first game since the home opener.

Notebook: Pistons 96, Celtics 81

Posted Sunday February 19, 2012 10:18PM

By Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Center Greg Monroe led a balanced attack with 17 points as the Detroit Pistons defeated the Boston Celtics for the second time in five nights, 96-81, at The Palace Sunday. Rodney Stuckey added 16 points for Detroit, which has won three straight and seven of its last nine. Paul Pierce led Boston, which lost its third straight and dropped to .500, with 18 points. Celtics forward Kevin Garnett missed the game for personal reasons and guard Rajon Rondo was ejected with three minutes left in the third quarter for arguing with the officials.

QUOTABLE: "Our effort and intensity and focus over a full 48 minutes has changed. Everybody has come into their roles. Everybody is holding each other accountable and we're all playing together."
-- Monroe on his team's recent surge.

THE STAT: 46-15. The Pistons attempted 31 more free throws than the Celtics, though they made just 29 of 46. Detroit's previous highs were 27 made free throws (vs. Portland on Jan. 21) and 33 attempts (vs. Orlando Jan. 2.) It was also 11 free throws more than any opponent had attempted against the Celtics, who attempted just 15 and converted 11. Stuckey led the free throw parade by making 12 of 15.

TURNING POINT: The Celtics went on a 12-4 run at the start of the third to cut Detroit's 13-point halftime lead to 59-54 but the Pistons swiftly reestablished control with 12 unanswered points. Seven different players had points during that spurt and Detroit was up double digits the remainder of the game.

QUOTABLE II: "Too many times we're looking at the officials to bail us out. We can't expect anything from the referees. We're on the road and you're not always going to like the call you get. You've just got to continue to play through it. We can't be a fragile team."
-- Pierce on the free throw disparity.

HOT: Stuckey only had two baskets but his aggressive moves to the basket allowed him to make his living Sunday at the foul line. He is averaging 25 points over the last four games and also had a season-high four steals against the Celtics.

NOT: The Celtics continued to struggle with their rebounding and ball handling. They were pounded on the offensive boards, as the Pistons had a 29-6 advantage in second-chance points. Boston ranks last in the NBA in rebounding percentage. They came into the game 17th in turnovers per game and surely sank further in that category, making 24 that led to 40 Detroit points.

GOOD MOVE: Pistons coach Lawrence Frank inserted forward Jason Maxiell into the lineup 10 games ago and Detroit has a 7-3 record since that move. Maxiell, who is slimmer and quicker than he was last season, has given the Pistons an energetic, defensive presence. He had six points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 21 minutes Sunday.

BAD MOVE: Rondo lost his cool after not getting a whistle when he drove into the lane. Boston wound up with a 24-second violation on the play and Rondo got two technicals in the blink of an eye. Rondo had scored a career-high 35 points against Detroit in Boston on Wednesday. Without him, the Celtics had no realistic chance to mount a comeback.

NOTABLE: Boston coach Doc Rivers is uncertain whether Garnett would return in time for Monday night's game at Dallas. "There's a chance he'll be there," he said. "I'm leaving that entirely up to him." ... Celtics reserve forward Brandon Bass did not make the trip because of a sore left knee. ... Detroit had its second sellout this season, boosted by a halftime performance by Flo Rida. ... Monroe, who had 10 rebounds, recorded his 16th double-double.

UP NEXT: For the Celtics, Monday @ Dallas, Wednesday @ Oklahoma City, Tuesday (Feb. 28) @ Cleveland. For the Pistons, Tuesday @ Cleveland, Wednesday @ Toronto, Tuesday (Feb. 28) vs. Philadelphia.

• Celtics: Bass, Garnett
• Pistons: Villanueva

• Celtics: Rivers, Rondo, Rondo, Wilcox
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #70 Brent Barnaky, #65 Sean Wright
• Attendance: 22076
• Duration: 2:27