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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- Antoine Walker recovered from his miserable first
half. Jerry Stackhouse didn't.
Walker scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half -- 16 in the
third quarter alone -- to help Boston rally from a 16-point deficit
and beat the Detroit Pistons 99-87 Monday night.
|  | | Paul Pierce, top, helps up teammate Eric Williams, who was on the receiving end of a Pistons' offensive foul. |
Paul Pierce scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth as the
Celtics extended their winning streak to a season-high three games.
"He (Walker) is our leader," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said.
"No one believed we'd win the game but Antoine Walker and Paul
Pierce. They kept saying, 'Let's keep playing and see where it
takes us.' Antoine had a super second half -- especially from a
leadership standpoint."
Stackhouse, the NBA's leading scorer with a 30-point average
coming into the night, picked up his third foul with 6:53 left in
the first quarter and didn't play the rest of the half. He finished
with just 12 points on 6-for-17 shooting -- his second-lowest output
of the season.
Stackhouse seemed to blame the officiating, but held his tongue
when asked to elaborate.
"I haven't committed three fouls in the first quarter in my
whole life," he said. "It was just personal. That's all I can
say."
But the officials couldn't be blamed for the three separate
technical foul shots that he missed, or his airball that missed the
basket by two feet.
"I didn't really get into a rhythm," said Stackhouse, who was 0-for-3 from the line. "My thing is
hitting free throws. I didn't even hit free throws tonight."
Detroit led 70-54 late in the third before Boston scored 12 of
the last 14 points in the quarter. The Celtics then scored 12 of
the first 14 points in the fourth, tying the game on a 3-pointer by
Pierce and taking their first lead of the game when Walker forced a
goaltending call before Pierce hit another jumper to make it 78-74
with 8:24 left.
"Good players are not going to miss shots all night," Pistons
forward Michael Curry said. "We gave them life and they started
making shots."
Walker, who shot just 2-for-12 in the first half, hit six
3-pointers in all and also had nine assists before he left to a
standing ovation when he was ejected for his second technical foul
with 48 seconds left in the game.
Chucky Atkins scored 20 points and Ben Wallace had 10 rebounds
for Detroit, which has lost 14 of its last 17 games and has not won
consecutive games since Christmas.
The Pistons posted a 13-2 run to take a 17-6 lead, and led by as
many as 16 in the first quarter.
Game notes
The Celtics signed Milt Palacio, a surprising contributor
to the Boston Celtics' injury-strapped point guard position, for
the rest of the season. His second and final 10-day contract was
set to expire Monday. By keeping him, the Celtics must pay him
$198,000. ... Former Celtic Dana Barros was greeted warmly when he
came into the game late in the first quarter. ... Kenny Anderson
returned after missing seven games with a strained right ankle. He
had one point and three assists in 21 minutes. ... Stackhouse has
led the Pistons in scoring for 39 of the team's 43 games. His
lowest total is 11, on Dec. 5 against Vancouver. ... Boston picked
up three technicals in the third, but Stackhouse missed all three
foul shots. ... Detroit was called for five illegal defenses.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 99
Detroit 87
Washington 95
Cleveland 89
Phoenix 95
Atlanta 82
Minnesota 99
Milwaukee 96
Utah 97
Denver 91
Vancouver 97
New Jersey 86
Charlotte 93
Golden State 85
San Antonio 96
LA Clippers 67
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Antoine Walker Official Site
Jerry Stackhouse Official Site
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