Your mom and grandma's favorite Celtic helps the team wake up and beat the Pistons

As they sleepwalked through a meaningless game vs. the Detroit Pistons last night at the TD Garden, it was obvious that the Boston Celtics needed a spark.

38-year-old Shaquille O'Neal was the unlikely force behind a strong fourth quarter (28-21) to help the Celts overcome an eight-point deficit and win 86-82.

Kevin Garnett (11 points, 6 rebounds) looked like the rusty player who just came back from an injury, the expected letdown after his performance on Monday vs. the Orlando Magic-a much bigger game against a fellow contender.

Paul Pierce (game-high 22 points) was the only Celtic (32-9) that really seemed to be focused that is until Shaq carried the team on his broad shoulders in the fourth quarter.

I'll admit that when Boston picked up Shaq in the off-season, I figured it was nothing more than a heady PR move but I've been pleasantly surprised. When he plays (a big if), he has been unselfish and brought some inside presence that they've desperately needed with Kendrick Perkins, Jermaine O'Neal and KG out at various times.

Last night was Shaq's best game for the Celts. He was diving on the court for loose balls, blocking shots (2), stealing the ball (3) and posting a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Ray Allen was held to seven points although as he usually does, he made a dagger long 2-pointer that was the biggest shot of the game. Rajon Rondo was also limited to six points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Glen Davis had 11 points and six rebounds for the bench which was short-handed after Marquis Daniels left in the second quarter with a sprained ankle.

Detroit (15-27) came in on a three-game winning streak but let's be honest: they're a complete mess. Richard Hamilton is due to be traded but right now he's rotting on the bench and getting DNPs.

Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 15 points, Greg Monroe (9 rebounds) and Tayshaun Prince added 13 points apiece, Charlie Villanueva had 11 points and Ben Gordon notched 10 points.

Try not to fall asleep as I describe this borefest. The teams were tied at 22 after one quarter and Detroit was up 45-42 at halftime. Both only managed 16 points in an ugly third quarter before the Cs finally decided to play for a few minutes in the fourth.

Boston shot 44.7% to Detroit's 41.9%. They each hit four 3-pointers and the Pistons made two more free throws (16-14). The Celts pulled down 13 more rebounds (47-34) while the Pistons had four more steals (9-5), one more block (6-5) and four less turnovers (17-13). Detroit had three more fast break points (12-9) but thanks to Shaq, the Celts had eight more points in the paint (50-42).

Things figure to get much more interesting and exciting tomorrow night as the Utah Jazz visit the Garden. Former Celtics young gun Al Jefferson has finally found a good team to play on and point guard Deron Williams is arguably the best in the NBA. Should be a good one, wish I was going!

Rajon Rondo is from another planet

Admittedly, it's hard to get pumped out about any NBA regular season game unless you're going or some other special situation.

Still, there's a reason I set the DVR for the Celtics' game at the Detroit Pistons last night and I plan to the do the same for the rest of the season - Rajon Rondo.

Boston's young point guard is the heart and soul of the team and he is playing on another level right now.

In last night's easy 106-89 win for the Celts (3-1) at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Rondo had 17 assists and no turnovers. Think about that. This comes after a triple-double on Friday vs. the Knicks with 24 assists (four short of the franchise record by Bob Cousy).

I've never seen a guy that's able to control the game like he can, especially when he's not much of a scoring threat at all himself.

Kevin Garnett looks more like the 2008 KG than last year's shadow of himself. He had 22 points, Paul Pierce had 21 points and Ray Allen added 16 points.

In his first start for the Green, zombie Jermaine O'Neal even had 12 points and two blocks. He was getting plenty of open looks so if he can knock a few shots down a game, Boston will be in great shape. Him and Shaq are sure to be hurt a ton this season and Kendrick Perkins won't come back until at least January.

The C's bench continues to play well without its leader - Delonte West. Glen Davis had 10 points, Marquis Daniels scored nine while rookies Luke Harangody (4 points) and Semih Erden (2 points, 2 blocks) scored their first NBA buckets in limited action.

Detroit (0-4) is a mess as they're off to their first 0-4 start in 11 seasons. They can't seem to decide if they want to completely rebuild around Rodney Stuckey (15 points) and Austin Daye (16 points) or live off past glory with Ben Wallace (6 points, 8 rebounds) and Tayshaun Prince (10 points), not to mention Richard Hamilton, who didn't play since he's injured.

I don't know where Ben Gordon (14 points) fits into that equation but either way, the Pistons are going nowhere fast despite having a decent collection of talent. Charlie Villanueva should start, even though he doesn't play defense, since he put up a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Boston shot 51.9% to Detroit's 44.9%. The Celtics made five more 3-pointers (7-2) and shot 100% from the free throw line (18 for 18). Oh and they had a whopping 20 more assists (33-13), eight more steals (10-2) and five more blocks (7-2). The Pistons had 17 turnovers while the C's only had eight, which was a great sign since that's been a major issue in their first few games this season.

The other big issue will come tonight as they face the Milwaukee Bucks at the TD Garden. Can the Celts beat a good team in the second night of back to back games? The Bucks have gotten off to a slow start but the Celtics lost in Cleveland last week under similar circumstances to a bad team.

It's a good thing these games don't really matter

Yuck. The Celtics choked away a twelve-point lead last night at the Palace and lost to the woeful Pistons 92-86.

It was Boston's (27-13) third consecutive loss and the fifth in their last seven games. This was maybe the worst loss of the season so far since Detroit (15-26)-who recently lost 13 games in a row-is just an awful team, there's no way around it.

The centerpiece of the rebuilding Pistons is Rodney Stuckey and the 50 Cent look-alike has some game: he scored a game-high 27 points, with 11 rebounds and six assists.

Charlie Villanueva scored 19 points off the bench for Detroit while Jason Maxiell and Richard Hamilton scored 12 points apiece.

Paul Pierce got off to a hot start with 17 points in the first quarter but he was held to four points the rest of the way. Rajon Rondo added 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

In his big return to Detroit Rock City, Rasheed Wallace tallied 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals but he didn't make any plays down the stretch when the Pistons started to run away with it.

The most interesting part of the game was Big Baby swearing at a clown Detroit fan that was courtside. It's good to see that Davis has really grown up since his injury at the start of the season.

(Fingers crossed) Kevin Garnett is supposed to return tomorrow night for the C's as they host the underrated Trailblazers. Portland star Brandon Roy is banged up with a hamstring injury so his status is probably up in the air too.

Long Overdue

Sound the doomsday alarm, ring the church bell, call a friend, the Boston Celtics (the best road team in the regular season) finally won a game on the road in the playoffs. The C's are now 9-1 at home and 1-6 on the road.

The Celts took game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the Palace, 94-80. It couldn't have come at a more opportune time as the Pistons had stolen the C's home-court advantage by winning game 2 at the Garden.

All five starters and six Celtics overall scored in double figures. It took a collective team effort to finally get that gorilla off their back.

Kevin Garnett was the best player on the court with 22 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and two steals. Ray Allen had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists while Kendrick Perkins totalled 12 points and 10 boards. Rajon Rondo scored 12, Paul Pierce had 11 and James Posey added 12 points off the bench.

The Pistons were led by Richard Hamilton's 26 points. The other Detroit player who stood out was Rodney Stuckey, who scored 17 points with four assists and four steals off the bench. Rasheed Wallace was the other notable Piston as he had 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Big runs were the staple of the first quarter as Boston opened the game on an 11-0 clip. Detroit answered with a 14-0 run but the C's closed the first frame with a 10-0 run, giving them a 25-17 lead.

The lead increased in the second quarter, so much so that Boston took a surprising 50-32 advantage into halftime.

The Celts came out slow in the second half but eventually worked the lead up to 24 points. Detroit made a frantic comeback (helped immensely by the refs that let Detroit beat up Boston with no whistles) but would only get as close as nine points.

Chauncey Billups continued his strange series with six points, four assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes. Stuckey actually played 28 minutes and was on the floor for much of the second half when Detroit tried to cut the Boston lead.

Boston shot 46.4% from the floor to Detroit's 38.4%. The C's had five three-pointers while the Pistons only managed one. The C's owned the glass (44-28), which was a pretty impressive margin on the road.

Game 4 is tomorrow night back at the Palace and if the C's can get another road win, this series is as good as over. Don't count the Pistons out however. This team has been in countless big games in the last six seasons so they'll no doubt play much better than their stinker last night.

Well There Goes That Plan

It was inevitable. The Boston Celtics finally lost a home game in the playoffs. Detroit won game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 103-97. This means that the C's will have to win a game on the road if they want to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Pistons played a great game from start to finish, making tough baskets and all the little plays that add up to a win in the playoffs.

Six Detroit players scored in double figures: Richard Hamilton (25 points), Chauncey Billups (19 points, 7 assists), Antonio McDyess (15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals), Tayshaun Prince (14 points, 8 assists) and Rodney Stuckey (13 points).

Boston had won 15 games in a row at the Garden, March 24 vs. the Sixers was the last loss by the Green and White on the parquet.

Surprisingly, for the first time in the playoffs, the Big Three all played well. Paul Pierce (26 points, 5 assists), Ray Allen (25 points) and Kevin Garnett (24 points, 13 rebounds) were all outstanding. Rajon Rondo (10 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals) had his moments but the difference between the teams was Stuckey. The Boston bench combined for only eight points.

The C's led 20-18 after the first quarter but Detroit held a 50-43 halftime lead.

Boston came out on fire to start the second half and would you believe that Ray Allen was the catylyst? Allen made a couple hoops and a steal to push the Celts ahead 55-54.

It was tight the rest of the way but the Pistons made just a few more shots down the stretch.

For the game, the Pistons were 28 of 32 (Boston was 22 of 25) from the line and only had nine turnovers to the Celtics' 12. Everything else was pretty much even.

Game 3 is tomorrow night in the Palace at Auburn Hills. I know I'm looking forward to hearing that idiot yell Detroit basketball every three minutes. He must have some kinda life. Chauncey BaBaBaBa BILLUPS!