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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Not only are the Boston Celtics playing their best basketball of the season, they're playing as well as they have in years.
|  | | Paul Pierce scored his 40 points on just 19 field-goal tries (14-for-19). |
Paul Pierce scored 40 points as the Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons 102-95 Friday night to extend their winning streak to a
season-best five games, which matches the best streak since 1995.
"Everything is starting to come together," Pierce said after falling two points short of his career high. "We're feeling good about ourselves. We're confident. We never felt that we were going to lose this game even with Antoine (Walker) out and Randy (Brown) hurt.
"I could see it in everybody's eyes."
The Celtics were without Walker, who is attending his
grandmother's funeral in Chicago on Saturday, and Brown, who
hyperextended his left knee in a win at Indiana on Wednesday.
It didn't matter.
Eric Williams scored 17, Bryant Stith had 14 and Vitaly
Potapenko added 13 points and 10 rebounds to help make up for
Walker's absence.
Boston took control of the game with a 26-6 run midway through
the second quarter.
"I think we responded well to him being out," Pierce said,
referring to Walker. "That brought us closer together. I don't
think Detroit thought we would come out so hard without Antoine,
they thought it would be a little bit easy."
The Celtics are 8-4 since Jim O'Brien replaced Rick Pitino on
Jan. 8.
"They're taking pride in their defense," O'Brien said. "We've limited our rotations. The guys that are playing are the guys that are our toughest defensive players."
Detroit's Jerry Stackhouse scored 40 points, Chucky Atkins had
14 and reserve Mateen Cleaves added 13 points.
"Other guys need to start making something happen and stop
looking to Jerry to make all the plays," Atkins said.
The Pistons have lost eight straight at home since beating
Boston on Dec. 26. It's their worst streak at The Palace since
losing 10 consecutive during the 1993-94 season.
"If we are not focused and playing real hard, we are not very good" Detroit coach George Irvine said.
Stackhouse tied a team record with 20 points in the first
quarter, but the game was tied at 29 when the period ended.
Pierce, who scored a career-best 42 points against Minnesota on Jan. 15, scored 15 points during Boston's decisive run, which took the Celtics from a 38-32 deficit to a 58-44 advantage.
The Celtics went on a similar spurt when they beat Detroit on
Monday at home. A 38-12 run helped them turn a 16-point deficit
late into the third quarter into a 99-87 win.
Boston led 64-52 at halftime, which marked the most points the
Pistons have given up in a half this season. The Celtics led 82-72
after three quarters.
Detroit cut its deficit to 97-91 with 2:02 left, but could not
get closer.
Game notes
O'Brien said he and a couple of coaches and players will
attend Walker's grandmother's funeral. ... Walker is expected to
miss Sunday's game against Cleveland and Monday's against Toronto.
... Detroit activated Eric Montross and put Billy Owens (back
spasms) on the injured list. ... Boston won the season series over
Detroit 3-1. ... Stackhouse has scored 40 or more five times this
season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 103
Denver 94
Orlando 123
Philadelphia 117
Miami 91
Atlanta 80
New York 95
New Jersey 71
Boston 102
Detroit 95
LA Lakers 93
Charlotte 87
Sacramento 105
Vancouver 95
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Paul Pierce gets the basket and the foul in his 40-point performance against the Pistons.
avi: 267 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Antoine Walker Official Site
Jerry Stackhouse Official Site
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