This was a very very ugly game by both teams. The C's were slow on both ends of the court for 7/8ths of the game with the exception of Shaq. He got 5 offensive boards and was extremely active, blocking shots, hitting the floor for steals, and cleaning up the glass on both ends of the court.
The C's looked discombobulated from the start as they tried to match up with the Pistons having Tracy McGrady at the point by having Rondo cover him. This worked briefly but quickly broke down after the first few minutes. McGrady took advantage of the uncertain rotations to create a ton of easy looks for his team mates. This allowed the Pistons to get back in the game and eventually take a lead into half.
With 6 minutes left in the game the Pistons took their biggest lead of the night, and the Celtics finally responded with a 9-1 run that tied up the game. From there the C's and Pistons traded buckets until Ray hit a big shot with 25 seconds left, and from their the C's got stops to win the game.
- I think the Celtics played a lot better defense just putting Rondo on Ben Gordon or Rodney Stuckey. They did this to close out the game and it worked.
- The C's did a great job attacking the glass tonight. They took advantage of Detroit's size and got 14 second shots.
- Paul Pierce had it going most of the night, he was able to get a step on Prince, Daye, and McGrady. He was the only player who was able to consistently score during his time out there.
- Ray Allen had an awful shooting night. He missed two out of five free throws and only made a single shot prior to his game winning long two late.
- Marquis Daniels left in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Hopefully it isn't a serious one.