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Keys to the Game

The Boston Celtics were out-manned from the start in this one, which is weird considering they were playing a team that just got back from playing in London a few days ago.

Boston was out-rebounded by eight boards, they committed boatloads of fouls, and above everything else, they shot so poorly that they couldn't have gotten back in this game even if they forced 20 turnovers. Oh, wait. Boston did force 20 turnovers.

Defensively, they were able to really put a lockdown on the ball handler at times, the only problem is when it wasn't working Detroit scored endlessly, thanks to lobs down into the post and easy dunks by Detroit's big men.

Speaking of which, Kevin Garnett's defense was atrocious in tonight's game. He was fine when he was dealing with a character one-on-one, but when the Pistons threw a penetrating guard at him, he bit hard, and Andre Drummond or Greg Monroe were able to easily slip behind him and grab the entry pass.

Game over from then on out.

So now is NOT a good time to tell Boston folks that Detroit just hammered the Celtics by 15, right? K.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) January 21, 2013

Pistons 103, Celtics 88, Final.

Let's take a look at the box score from tonight's game. First the Pistons:

Via: NBA.com

And the Celtics:

Via: NBA.com

Pistons 103, Celtics 88, Final.

The Pistons will dribble the clock out and this one is mercilessly over. Boston drops back to .500.

Pistons 103, Celtics 88, Final.

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Tayshuan Prince puts in a dunk to push their score to 101 points. this is the first time the Celtics have given up over 100 points in December.

Pistons 101, Celtics 84 with 1:13 left in the fourth.

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Boston's up to a still easily disrespectable 39.7 percent shooting for the night. That'll explain a lot about what went down in this one.

PIstons 99, Celtics 84 with 1:34 left in the fourth.

It's nice of the refs to continue calling every iffy foul to drag this one out just a little bit further.

Meanwhile, Greg Monroe has a double-double in seven of his last eight games.

Pistons 92, Celtics 80 with 3:19 left in the fourth.

Since taking 16-point lead, Pistons have had 7 straight scoreless trips. Boston within 10, 4:22 to play.

— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) January 21, 2013

And that's followed by free throws by the Pistons. Boston's giving them free points.

Pistons 91, Celtics 79 with 3:46 left in the fourth.

Not sure what's wrong with Paul Pierce, but there's something wrong. He has 6 points in 30 minutes #celtics

— gary washburn (@GwashNBAGlobe) January 21, 2013

I would say he's having a day that a 35-year-old basketball player tends to have every once in a while.

Pistons 89, Celtics 79 with 4:30 left in the fourth.

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A steal by Drummond at the top of the key and a should-be clear path foul by Paul Pierce robs us all of a sure to be nasty throwdown by the big man.

Shame on you, Pierce. Shame.

Pistons 89, Celtics 77 with 5:39 left in the fourth.

Detroit is 8-15 from the three-point line, and have made seven of nine from the right side of the arc, which seems really strange.

Pistons 89, Celtics 75 with 7:08 left in the fourth.

Alley-oop to Andre Drummond. Garnett has bitten so many times on the faux-penetration tonight that he's gotta have some sore chompers.

By my count that's his fifth oop tonight.

Drummond dunks a lob again. The Celtics haven't stopped him all game.

— Dime Smash! (@DimeSmash) January 21, 2013

Pistons 89, Celtics 73 with 8:00 left in the fourth.

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Kyle Singler is two steals and four blocks away from a 5x5. It's totally possible, right?

Pistons 87, Celtics 73 with 8:49 left in the fourth.

Greg Monroe has no problem going right at Kevin Garnett at the start of the fourth. Garnett has had trouble with the big dudes in the post all game long.

Trouble in the D for Boston.

After missing a series of FTs, Doc Rivers said, "They should (intentionally) foul us, (expletive)." to those at scorer's table #celtics

— gary washburn (@GwashNBAGlobe) January 21, 2013

PIstons 85, Celtics 73 with 11:02 left in the fourth.

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After another good quarter by the Pistons, Brandon Knight leads the way with 15 points, Andre Drummond has 14, Tayshaun Prince has 12 and Kyle Singler has 10.

Boston's scoring has been much less spread out, and are riding 15 points each from Jeff Green and Kevin Garnett, while Courtney Lee has added 14. Rajon Rondo has 12 assists, but eight turnovers.

Pistons 81, Celtics 71 at the start of the fourth.

If Boston were to pull out a win, it would be one of their biggest comebacks in a decade.

Celtics trailed by 18 in the second quarter, enter the 3rd down just 4, 52-48. The biggest Boston comebacks since '02.. twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP/…

— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) January 21, 2013

Of course, they've still got quite a bit of ground to cover.

Pistons 81, Celtics 71 with 0:03 left in the third.

Doc Rivers is moving to the Hack-A-Drummond here. Drummond makes one of two.

Pistons 76, Celtics 69 with 1:17 left in the third.

No matter how many runs Boston makes, Detroit keeps getting back out to a nice little lead. They're attacking the rim more, and just playing more aggressively in general.

Pistons 75, Celtics 68 with 1:26 left in the third.

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Another Drummond alley-oop. This time it comes from Greg Monroe, whose passing skills have increased mightily this season.

Pistons 74, Celtics 68 with 1:42 left in the third.

Rondo has barely sat out in the past two quarters, despite picking up his third foul early in the second and his fourth foul early in the third. That's a lot of trust Doc Rivers has in his point guard.

Terry comes out of the timeout with a long-ball, his first points of the game.

Pistons 70, Celtics 66 with 2:45 left in the third.

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We're getting to the point where we were early in the second quarter, the only thing going is Jared Sullinger offensive rebounds for the Celtics as Rondo struggles with his shot.

Pistons 70, Celtics 60 with 4:10 left in the third.

Detroit's finally getting something going on the run, a pace that was favoring the Celtics early on.

Pistons 67, Celtics 58 with 5:43 left in the third.

And of course, if you want to (you do) a solid look at Andre Drummond's hard work in the second quarter.

Pistons 63, Celtics 56 with 6:58 left in the third.

Here's a solid look at what went down in the first half, from Boston's slow start, to their dominant comeback.

Pistons 61, Celtics 54 with 8:24 left in the third.

Rondo grabs his fourth foul, and just like Rivers did in the second quarter, he stays in the game.

Of course, three-pointers from the Pistons extend their lead.

A 3 from BK on one end puts Pistons up 4, then he draws charge from Rondo - Rondo's 4th early in 3Q

— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) January 21, 2013

PIstons 61, Celtics 54 with 8:24 left in the third.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

What an amazing sequence for the Celtics. Garnett wins a tipoff against Greg Monroe (who's a solid decade younger than him, mind you), Rondo gets the tip and hurls it down court to Bradley for a layup. 

Oh, and that gives Rondo his 10th assist on the night.

Pistons 55, Celtics 54 with 9:09 left in the third.