With the best-of-seven series tied, the next two games will be in Detroit, starting tomorrow night. The Celtics are 0-6 in the postseason on the road, and the Pistons are 5-1 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Celtics did win at Detroit, 92-85, in their lone regular-season appearance Jan. 5.
"There's going to come a time where we've got to get one, and we've finally come up front, you know, with that dilemma," said Kevin Garnett, who had 24 points and 13 rebounds. "We've got to find some way to win one on the road, and that's what it is."
Detroit had not scored 90 points in all four previ ous contests against the Celtics. But last night, the Pistons got their offense rolling, shooting 49.3 percent, nailing 5 of 10 3-pointers, and hitting 28 of 32 free throws. The Celtics got torched by Detroit's guards. Rip Hamilton scored 25 points, Chauncey Billups had 19 points and seven assists, and rookie Rodney Stuckey added 13 points and three assists. Six Pistons scored in double figures.
"I thought we were a step slower than we were in Game 1," Pierce said. "I think they did a great job at getting the ball from strong side to weak side because we're a strong-side defense. So it was tough once they reversed the ball and made us rotate those guys. We were a step late and those guys knocked down shots."
Said Celtics coach Doc Rivers: "I never thought we put as much pressure defensively on them as we did in the first game. Usually when we shoot 49 percent and score 97 points, we win games. Tonight our defense just wasn't as good as it's been."
The Celtics' All-Star trio of Pierce, Garnett, and Ray Allen (25 points) was hot offensively, but the rest of the team combined for 6-of-17 shooting from the field. The bench scored only 8 points.
The Pistons entered halftime with a 50-43 lead after shooting 51.5 percent from the field. Three Pistons scored in double figures in the first half: Hamilton (15), Billups (11), and Antonio McDyess (11).
