Celtics–Pistons rivalry
| |||
| First meeting | October 23, 1957 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Latest meeting |
February 3, 2016 (TD Garden) | ||
| Next meeting |
November 19, 2016 (Palace of Auburn Hills) | ||
| Statistics | |||
| Meetings total | 411 meetings | ||
| All-time series | 257-154 (BOS) | ||
| Regular season series | 233-133 (BOS) | ||
| Postseason results | 24–21 (BOS) | ||
| Longest win streak | |||
| Current win streak | W1 (BOS) | ||
| Post-season history | |||
| |||
The Celtics–Pistons rivalry was a rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. They met in the NBA Playoffs 5 times from 1985–91, with Boston winning in 1985 and 1987, and Detroit winning en route to back-to-back Finals appearances in 1988 and their title season of 1989 and 1991. The rivalry peaked in the late 1980s, featuring players such as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Bill Laimbeer.
NBA Playoffs
1985 Eastern Conference Semifinals
- Game 1: BOS 133 DET 99
- Game 2: BOS 121 DET 114
- Game 3: DET 125 BOS 117
- Game 4: DET 102 BOS 99
- Game 5: BOS 130 DET 123
- Game 6: BOS 123 DET 113
Boston wins series 4–2.
1987 Eastern Conference Finals
The Celtics established themselves earlier in the decade, with 4 Eastern Conference titles from 1981–86. But the emergence of the younger Pistons was the first real threat to the Celtics' dynasty. The Bad Boys, as Detroit was known, used physical play to intimidate their way to victory. This roused the ire of Boston's players and fans, and the teams' mutual hatred of each other often led to on-court fighting. Detroit's biggest antagonists were Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn and Dennis Rodman. In Game 3, Bird and Laimbeer were ejected for fighting as the Pistons won 122-104.
The most famous moment of the rivalry occurred during Game 5. Leading 107-106 with 5 seconds left, and Detroit threatening to take a 3–2 series lead, Isiah Thomas had his inbounds pass stolen by Bird, who dished it off to Dennis Johnson for the winning layup. With Parish forced to sit out Game 6 due to a suspension for punching Laimbeer in the second quarter of Game 5 (the first for a playoff game in NBA history; he also re-sprained his right ankle late in Game 5), the Pistons won Game 6 113-105 to send it back to Boston for Game 7. The Celtics ended the bitter series with a 117-114 win in Boston Garden over Detroit.
- Game 1: BOS 104 DET 91
- Game 2: BOS 110 DET 101
- Game 3: DET 122 BOS 104
- Game 4: DET 145 BOS 119
- Game 5: BOS 108 DET 107
- Game 6: DET 113 BOS 105
- Game 7: BOS 117 DET 114
Boston wins series 4–3.
1988 Eastern Conference Finals
Thomas got his revenge in the 1988 Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons finally unseated the Celtics, winning the series 4–2 and advancing to the NBA Finals to face the Lakers. What was notable was the fact that Detroit, who entered the series with 21 straight losses at the Boston Garden, beat Boston by winning 2 of 3 there (Games 1 and 5). In Game 5, the Celtics led by 16 before the Pistons rallied to win 102–96 in OT. In addition, their rough play and intense defense made Bird's scoring drop to just 10 points per game on 35.1% shooting, forcing Boston to rely on McHale.
- Game 1: DET 104 BOS 96
- Game 2: BOS 119 DET 115
- Game 3: DET 98 BOS 94
- Game 4: BOS 79 DET 78
- Game 5: DET 102 BOS 96 (OT)
- Game 6: DET 95 BOS 90
Detroit wins series 4–2.
1989 Eastern Conference First Round
In 1989, the teams met again, only this time the Pistons were the #1 seed, while the Bird-less Celtics were the #8 seed. As expected, the Pistons swept the Celtics.
- Game 1: DET 101 BOS 91
- Game 2: DET 102 BOS 95
- Game 3: DET 100 BOS 85
Detroit wins series 3–0.
1991 Eastern Conference Semifinals
The Celtics and Pistons met one last time in 1991. Similar to 1988, Boston had home-court advantage, but lost to Detroit in 6. By this time however, Bird's health deteriorated, Thomas was injured and both teams had a new set of players.
- Game 1: DET 86 BOS 75
- Game 2: BOS 109 DET 103
- Game 3: BOS 115 DET 83
- Game 4: DET 104 BOS 97
- Game 5: DET 116 BOS 111
- Game 6: DET 117 BOS 113
Detroit wins series 4–2.
2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals
In 2002, the Celtics and Pistons met again, now featuring new stars in Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker, Jerry Stackhouse and Ben Wallace, respectively. Though the Celtics won in 5, the Pistons made their presence felt and returned to title form. They won the NBA title in 2004.
- Game 1: DET 94 BOS 86
- Game 2: BOS 85 DET 77
- Game 3: BOS 66 DET 64
- Game 4: BOS 90 DET 79
- Game 5: BOS 90 DET 81
Boston wins series 4–1.
2008 Eastern Conference Finals
After acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the Celtics renewed the rivalry. Their first matchup took place December 19, which Detroit won 87–85 after Chauncey Billups hit 2 key free throws. However, Boston won the season series 2–1. They met in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1988. Boston played 7 games each round while Detroit played 6 in the first and 5 in the second. The Celtics won a hard fought series in 6. Boston went on to capture their 17th NBA title by defeating the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals.
- Game 1: BOS 88 DET 79
- Game 2: DET 103 BOS 97
- Game 3: BOS 94 DET 80
- Game 4: DET 94 BOS 75
- Game 5: BOS 106 DET 102
- Game 6: BOS 89 DET 81
Boston wins series 4–2.
See also
- National Basketball Association rivalries
- Celtics–Lakers rivalry
- Celtics–76ers rivalry
- Bulls–Pistons rivalry
External links
- NBA.com - Reliving the Pistons-Celtics Rivalry
- ESPN.com - Celtics-Pistons rivalry: Top 10 games
- Boston.com - Cities share series of hoop moments