Celtics-Pistons: Timely Defense and Poor Clutch Shooting Dooms Detroit

After a third quarter during which the Pistons outscored the Celtics 31-20, everything seemed to be going against the Celtics.

The Pistons had the crowd going nuts, all of the momentum, and seemingly the officials on their side on the heels of what was quite possibly the worst call in NBA playoff history.

On a potential four point play from Paul Pierce, a ludicrous offensive foul call sapped what little momentum the Celtics had left in the third quarter. According to Bennett Salvatore, getting clotheslined while you shoot is in direct violation of the rules.

This game had all of the makings of a classic blowout.  The Pistons were firing on all cylinders, and the Celtics looked spent throughout the third quarter. Any competent observer would have concluded that Detroit would end up winning this game by at least 20, if not more.

But that was not to be. Tonight, the Celtics resiliently fought back in the face of incredible adversity to pull out a win that nobody thought they would get.

After trailing by as much as 10 during the third quarter, the Celtics started the fourth quarter with an amazing 19-4 run and held the Pistons to 33 percent shooting and 11 points for the quarter.

Paul Pierce dominated with 27 points and eight boards, and Garnett and Allen chipped in with 16 and 17 points respectively, but it was not the Big Three that won this game for the Celtics.

Timely defense from guys like James Posey, whose lockdown defense of the streaking Chauncy Billups, and great steal from Tayshaun Prince, who was not paying attention on the play, sealed the deal last night.

Kendrick Perkins was solid with seven points on 3-7 shooting, and two blocks, including one on Chauncy Billups on a drive to the hoop, killing the apparent momentum that Detroit had gained in cutting the Celtic lead to four late in the fourth quarter.

Surprisingly enough, even Rajon Rondo, who had been woeful at best during the first three quarters, rose to the occasion during the fourth, hitting a few clutch baskets to give the Celtics some breathing room.

Then again, Detroit had their opportunities. Two misses on wide open three-point shots from Billups and the struggling Tayshaun Prince quieted the crowd and emboldened the Celtics, who had been playing somewhat passive defense at that point.

Billups and Rip Hamilton, who had strained his right elbow during game five, combined for 50 points in the loss, but the mediocre effort from their teammates overshadowed the masterful play of the Pistons' backcourt.

Rasheed Wallace was especially poor. He had only four points on 2-12 shooting and nearly got called for a technical, not once, not twice, but three different times.

And of course, nobody could look at the struggles of Detroit's frontcourt without mentioning the immortal Tayshaun Prince, who scored 10 points on 3-10 shooting and had no answer for Paul Pierce.

Frankly, it's easy to rip on the Pistons for not rising to the occasion—just look at those last few sentences—but really they are the epitome of everything that a franchise should be.

They are a hard working, tight-knit group that just didn't have enough to stop the Celtics.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?