Published 23:15, May the 20th, 2008
C’s take Game 1
Garnett, Pierce lead the way in victory
Celtics 88, Pistons 79NBA. With the way the Celtics have been playing at home, it may never matter if they can’t win on the road.
The Celtics continued their dominance last night at the Garden, taking down the Pistons, 88-79, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics, who are 9-0 at home in the playoffs, host Game 2 tomorrow night.
Whether it’s a pressure-packed Game 7 or the first game against the class of the East, the C’s have consistently been able to answer the bell. The win also marked the 200th in the team’s postseason history at home.
Kevin Garnett led the way with 26 points and nine rebounds, and Paul Pierce stayed strong with 22 points, six boards and six assists.
The Celtics fought off hot and cold flashes in the first quarter. The C’s hit five of their first eight shots to build a 10-3 advantage, but they hit a dry spell after that, missing nine of 10 from the field while Detroit rallied to take a 13-12 lead. The Celtics responded by knocking down their last five shots in the quarter and built a 22-17 lead after one quarter.
The referees took over in the second quarter, when the Pistons hit 5-of-12 from the floor but stayed in the game by hitting 12-of-15 free throws. And even though the C’s shot 51.4 percent from the floor in the first half, they had to close the second quarter on a 6-1 run to take a 41-40 lead at the break.
Pierce then scored nine points in the third, including a 12-footer from the right elbow that extended the lead to 60-50, and Eddie House hit a 3-pointer from the left arc with 1.2 seconds remaining to give the Celtics a 69-57 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Things started getting hairy in the fourth, when Chauncey Billups knocked down a rim-rattling jumper to cut the lead to 79-73. But Pierce hit another jumper from the right elbow, and Rajon Rondo followed suit with a jump shot from the left baseline to give the Celtics a 10-point cushion.