Celtics get it righted

“It’s what happens when you have too much time off,’’ Rivers said. “My only thought was I have to figure out a way to make Nate comfortable quicker.’’

He came up with an idea, and that idea helped the Celtics put together a 105-100 win over the Pistons last night, the first step toward erasing the memory of two awful losses.

Rivers called Robinson into his office Monday before practice to tell him his plan. He figured the easiest way to make Robinson comfortable was to install a play the guard used to run when he was with the Knicks.

“My thought was, ‘Well, if I put in one of his plays, he’ll be comfortable,’ ’’ Rivers said. “The other four [players] may not be, but he will be.’’

Then, the coach took it a step further. Not only did he want to install a play for Robinson, he wanted Robinson to teach it.

Thinking about some of those he’d be teaching, future Hall of Famers such as Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, an All-Star in Rajon Rondo, and veteran Rasheed Wallace, Robinson was caught slightly off guard.

“Aw man, I’ve got to be coach now,’’ Robinson said. “I’m teaching the play to KG, Paul, Ray, ’Sheed. I’m like, ‘Wow.’ ’’

With the Celtics trailing, 75-72, after the third quarter to a Pistons team that was beating them on the boards (35 to 24 at that point), and to the line (where they were 14 of 18), Rivers put Robinson on the floor with Marquis Daniels, Glen Davis, Tony Allen, and Shelden Williams. The only play they ran was Robinson’s.

Against Detroit’s zone, Robinson drilled a 3-pointer from straightaway. It was the first of three he hit in the quarter, and it sparked a 16-4 run during which the reserves shared the ball, attacked the rim, and most important got stops on a Pistons team that was shooting 48.3 percent to that point.

By the time Rivers began to get his starters back into the game, the Celtics had a 9-point lead.

“We really could have just let them play the whole fourth quarter the way they were going,’’ said Pierce, who had 9 points in 29 minutes after missing three games with a sprained thumb and symptoms of the flu. “They got us the lead and never looked back from there.’’