The Celtics, who visit the Palace of Auburn Hills on Saturday night for the conclusion of the Pistons’ “Rivals Week,” dominated the NBA’s Eastern Conference for much of the ’80s. From 1979-80 through 1987-88 they won three NBA championships, two more East titles and averaged better than 61 wins per season.

For the Pistons, who started the decade with 16 wins in 1979-80 and 21 in 1980-81, the road to glory went straight through Boston. The Celtics made four straight trips to the NBA Finals in the mid-’80s, winning in 1984 and 1986, losing to the Lakers in 1985 and 1987. En route, they beat the Pistons in a six-game Eastern Conference Semifinal in 1985 and then won a memorable seven-game Eastern Conference Final in 1987.

By that year, the Pistons were staking a claim for a place among the league’s elite. With Adrian Dantley and Isiah Thomas both averaging over 20 points and Vinnie Johnson, Bill Laimbeer and Joe Dumars also scoring in double figures, they won 52 games in the regular season, matching what had been the franchise record, and reached the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They swept Washington in the first round and then beat Atlanta in five games to reach the Conference Finals for the first time since 1962.

Boston won the first two games at home, but Detroit responded by winning two on its home floor, racking up 145 points in Game 4. That set up a Game 5 classic at Boston Garden in which the Celtics’ experience, poise and savvy would come to the fore and produce one of the most memorable plays in NBA playoff history.

The Pistons fought the Celtics tooth-and-nail for 48 minutes and looked like they would come out on top as they led 107-106 and had possession of the ball out of bounds in the Boston frontcourt with five seconds to play. It appeared that the young, up-and-coming Pistons were about to take a major step in supplanting the aging Celtics as the Beast of the East.

But as Boston’s Larry Bird said, “When there’s time left, there’s always a chance.” As Thomas prepared to inbound the ball, Bird saw him sneak a glance at Laimbeer in the low post, so just before the ball was released he made his move. As Thomas tried to lob the ball into the pivot, Bird cut into the passing lane and picked the ball off before it could reach Laimbeer’s hands. Then, with his momentum carrying him toward the baseline and out of bounds, Bird spotted teammate Dennis Johnson cutting toward the basket from the foul line, whipped him a pass and D.J. laid it in with one second left for a 108-107 Boston victory.

It was an amazing play, one that was indicative of Bird’s magnificent basketball instincts. “Larry’s mind takes an instant picture of the whole court. He sees the creative possibilities,” said Bill Fitch, Bird’s first coach with the Celtics.

For the Pistons, it was a crushing blow. Though they showed their mettle by bouncing back to win Game 6 at home 113-105, when they returned to Boston Garden for Game 7, it was with a sense of “What could go wrong next?” Not surprisingly, the Celtics won 117-114, moving to the NBA Finals and sending the Pistons home for the summer.

It had been a hard-fought, physical series that had left a bitter taste in the Pistons’ mouths. Detroit yearned for a rematch, and got it the very next year. The Pistons won the Central Division title for the first time in 1987-88, but their 54 wins left them three shy of the Celtics and gave Boston the home-court advantage when the teams advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston had beaten Detroit 21 consecutive times at old Boston Garden heading into Game 1, and Thomas knew, “If we were to get the monkey off our backs, we absolutely had to win one of those first two crucial games.”

The Pistons wasted no time, beating the Celtics in the opener 104-96 as midseason acquisition James Edwards filled in admirably for an injured Laimbeer late in the game and contained Boston’s big men, Parish and McHale. But having stolen home-court advantage, the Pistons gave it back by scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 and losing at home 79-78. It was back to Boston for a crucial Game 5, and as Thomas said, “We all knew the whole series was riding on this game. If we didn’t win it, the best we could hope for would be a seventh and deciding game back in Boston, and none of us relished that prospect.”

Boston came out smoking, took a big early lead and led by as many as 16 points early in the fourth quarter. But by that point, Detroit’s rugged defense had begun to dig in and turn the tide. The Pistons allowed only 38 points in the second half, held Boston scoreless in the final 1:09 and forced the game into overtime, where they scored eight consecutive points to pull out a 102-96 victory.

It was an enormous victory for the Pistons, and one they were not about to squander. With the Microwave, Vinnie Johnson, scoring 24 points, they closed out the series with an emotion-charged 95-90 victory in Game 6 at the Silverdome.

Finally, they had beaten the archrival Celtics and won the Eastern Conference Championship. Though they would lose a heartbreaking seven-game series to the Lakers in the NBA Finals, the Detroit Pistons had overcome the biggest hurdle in their rise to prominence. By finally beating Boston, they were firmly among the NBA’s elite.

The Pistons’ “Rivals” began when they hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night and included a visit from Michael Jordan, now with the Washington Wizards, on Friday night.