Celtics-Pistons Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Nov 18 2012 1:35AM

The way Rajon Rondo has been creating for his teammates, a structured offense has been optional for the Boston Celtics.

Rondo will try to extend his streak of consecutive games with double-digit assists to 34 as the Celtics play for the fourth time in five days Sunday at the struggling Detroit Pistons.

After missing the team's loss to Brooklyn on Thursday because of a sprained right ankle, Rondo showed no ill effects Saturday, dishing out 20 assists in 32 minutes to lead Boston (6-4) to its biggest win of the season - 107-89 over Toronto.

Rondo, who sat out most of the fourth quarter, also had 20 assists against Philadelphia on Nov. 9. At 13.4 assists per game, he's on pace to become the NBA's highest assist leader since John Stockton averaged 13.7 in 1991-92.

Rondo can move within three games of tying Stockton for the second-longest streak in NBA history for consecutive games with 10 or more assists. Magic Johnson holds the record at 46.

"We have an offense and then he creates another offense at times," coach Doc Rivers said.

Boston, seeking its fifth win in six games, had assists on 37 of 43 field goals. Jason Terry scored a season-high 20 points, Paul Pierce added 19 and Kevin Garnett had 15 in 17 minutes.

"Something I look forward to every game is just trying to make my teammates happy. And somehow I keep getting to 10," Rondo said.

With Rondo continuing to find open looks for teammates, Boston shot a season-best 56.6 percent and matched a season high with 107 points.

The Celtics rank among the top teams in the league in field goal percentage at 47.8.

Rondo and Boston should be able to continue their success against a struggling Detroit team trying to avoid an NBA-high 10th loss.

The Pistons (1-9) have allowed just 20.4 assists per game, but they're coming off their worst defensive effort of the season.

After winning at Philadelphia on Wednesday to snap a franchise-worst 0-8 start, Detroit faltered down the stretch Friday in a 110-106 loss to Orlando. The Pistons - who had limited the 76ers to 76 points - allowed 39 fourth-quarter points to the Magic, who entered the game averaging only 88.0 points.

"If we're going to lose, we have to lose on our terms," coach Lawrence Frank said. "We've learned that a shootout probably isn't going to be the best thing for us, and the one win we have, we locked in and scored off of our defense as opposed to relying on just offense."

Greg Monroe scored 23 points to lead six players in double figures, Kyle Singler added 14 in his first start and Brandon Knight added 10 and 12 assists as Detroit had season highs in shooting (53.7 percent) and points.

Detroit, 0-3 at home and trying to avoid its first four-game losing streak there since dropping five straight from Jan. 4-20, is looking for its third straight win against the Celtics after taking two of three in the series last season.

Rondo scored a career-high 35 points on 15 of 27 shooting in a 98-88 loss to Detroit on Feb. 15, but finished with only six assists.

Pistons beat Celtics 103-83 for first home victory

Posted Nov 18 2012 11:07PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) The Detroit Pistons have had double-digit leads in all four of their home games this season.

The finally held on to one Sunday night.

After blowing late leads to Phoenix, Oklahoma City and Orlando, the Pistons (2-9) pulled away down the stretch to beat the Boston Celtics 103-83.

The Celtics, playing their fourth game in five nights, hit only four 3-pointers and trailed by as many as 22 points.

"We knew what their schedule situation was, and we wanted to take advantage," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "Boston was still ultra-competitive tonight, but we were able to get key stops, and that opened everything up for us. We've gotten both of our wins with a tough defensive mindset. That's the only way this team is going to consistently win games."

Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Jason Maxiell added 15 points. Detroit had six players in double figures and shot 54.5 percent for the night.

"I think those (home) games opened our eyes," Monroe said. "Those were all games we should have won, and we could have controlled them. I wouldn't say losing them was a good thing, but it was an eye-opener."

Jared Sullinger led the Celtics with 16 points, while Kevin Garnett had 15.

"We can't use the schedule as an excuse - this is the NBA and you have to play stretches like this," Garnett said. "But when you see as many shots hit the front of the rim as we had tonight, you know that you don't have your legs. You just have to fight through it, and we didn't do that tonight."

The only consolation for the Celtics was that, due to a concentrated effort in the fourth quarter, Rajon Rondo finished with 10 assists. That extended his double-digit streak to 34 games, the third longest in league history, but required Boston running a bizarre small-ball offense for the last several minutes designed strictly to get him assists.

"Why not?" Boston coach Doc Rivers asked. "The press keeps talking about it, so I figured I would give him a shot at it. The funny thing was that the harder we tried, the worse we got at it."

Sullinger finally made the effort pay off, hitting a jumper with 51 seconds left to give Rondo his tenth assist, although Boston still trailed 101-81. Leandro Barbosa immediately went to the scorer's table to take Rondo out of the game. Magic Johnson holds the NBA record with a 46-game streak in 1983-84 and John Stockton had a 37-game run in 1989.

Rondo acknowledged that the end of the game had been a bit strange, but didn't feel bad about it.

"I don't think that much about the streak, but I know that down the road, it will be something that I'm very proud that I accomplished," he said. "People will probably talk about what happened tonight, but I don't know. I wasn't born when Magic had his streak, and I wasn't watching yet when Stockton had his. There might have been games when they stayed in with a 30-point lead to get their streak going, but there wasn't as much attention paid back then."

Frank laughed off the issue.

"I guess the basketball gods were on his side tonight," he said. "I wasn't worried. I just know he's a great basketball player."

The Celtics dominated early, but the effects of the schedule had a clear impact in the second period. Boston missed 12 of its first 16 shots in the quarter, and only a series of Detroit turnovers kept the Pistons' lead down to 48-43 at the half.

Things didn't get any better in the third quarter for Boston, as the Pistons kept up the defensive pressure. Detroit outscored them 23-14 in the period, as Boston shot just 31.3 percent and turned the ball over seven times.

"We were dead men walking," Rivers said. "That is what it felt like. Give Detroit credit, they played extremely hard, but we just had no legs."

NOTES: Garnett was matched up with Pistons rookie Andre Drummond for long periods in each half. When Garnett was drafted in 1995, Drummond was still a month short of his second birthday. ... Rondo wasn't the only Celtic struggling to get assists. The rest of Boston's team combined for just two... Rondo's last single-digit assist game was March 9 against Portland.

Notebook: Pistons 103, Celtics 83

Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com
Posted Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:01 AM - Updated Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:01 AM

THE FACTS: Center Greg Monroe had 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons won their second game this season, a 103-83 romp over the weary Boston Celtics at The Palace of Auburn Hills Sunday night. Jason Maxiell added 15 points for the Pistons, who had six double-digit scorers. Rookie forward Jared Sullinger had 16 points for the Celtics, who had won four of their last five but were playing their fourth game in five nights.

QUOTABLE: "We had really good defensive energy and that's what it's going to take for us. It's not about getting the ball or getting your touches, it's about getting stops. The two games we've won, we've seen a defensive commitment."

-- Detroit coach Lawrence Frank

THE STAT: 31.6. Detroit's defense had allowed 66 second-half points to Orlando while squandering a double-digit lead Friday, the third time the Pistons had blown a double-figure lead at home. There was no repeat Sunday as the Pistons held the Celtics to 12 baskets on 31.6 percent shooting in the second and third quarters. Boston, which trailed by as much as 18 in the third, finished with 40 second-half points and committed 18 turnovers during the game. The Celtics had just 12 assists on 32 baskets as their half court sets were completely stifled by the Pistons' energy.

TURNING POINT: Detroit built some momentum entering the second half by going on a late six-point run in the first half. Maxiell finished that run off with a block and a 17-foot jumper, giving his team a 48-40 lead. He also scored eight of the Pistons' 23 third-quarter points when they pulled away.

QUOTABLE II: "It opened our eyes. Those are games we should have won. We could have controlled that. I wouldn't say it was a good thing (character-wise) but I definitely think it was an eye-opener."

-- Monroe on Detroit's previous fourth-quarter collapses

HOT: Monroe lifted his season averages to 16.8 points and 9.8 rebounds with his double-double. He got going early with eight first-quarter points and finished strong as well with eight fourth-quarter points.

NOT: Celtics guard Jason Terry was a non-factor, contributing just five points on 1-for-6 shooting. He had 20 points, his season high, against Toronto on Saturday but was neutralized by rookie Singler and Stuckey.

GOOD MOVE: Frank left Singler in the lineup for the third consecutive game and the 2011 second-round pick was solid all-around. He shot 6-for-9 from the field and also had two assists. He's averaging 14.7 points in the last three games.

BAD MOVE: Celtics coach Doc Rivers left Rondo in the game during garbage time so that Rondo could increase his streak of 10-assist games to 34. There was no other reason to keep his starting point guard in the game and it tainted the streak.

NOTABLE: Boston reserve center and former Piston Darko Milicic missed the game for personal reasons. ... Paul Pierce had 13 points and tweaked his ankle in the late going. ... The Pistons avoided their third 1-10 start in franchise history. They had one win after 11 games in two previous seasons, 1962-63 and 1980-81. They were also 2-9 during the lockout-shortened season a year ago and finished 25-41. ... Rondo's assists streak is third all-time behind Magic Johnson's 46 (spanning the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons) and John Stockton's 37 (spanning the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons).

UP NEXT: For the Celtics, Wednesday vs. San Antonio, Friday vs. Oklahoma City, Sunday @ Orlando. For the Pistons, Wednesday @ Orlando, Friday vs. Toronto, Sunday @ New York.

• Celtics: Joseph, Melo
• Pistons: English, Kravtsov

• Celtics: Terry
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #56 Mark Ayotte, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 12214
• Duration: 2:15