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The Detroit Pistons have cooled off two of the NBA's hottest teams in less than a week. With a meeting with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics looming, they're likely looking forward to their next opportunity to spoil a contender's night.
The Pistons look to continue their streak of strong play against the league's top teams on Thursday night when they visit the Celtics, who ousted Detroit from the playoffs last spring.
Detroit (8-3) was undefeated when it pulled off a blockbuster trade with Denver for Allen Iverson early this month. The Pistons dropped their first two games with Iverson in the lineup, including an 88-76 loss to Boston in Iverson's home debut Nov. 9, but they appear to have since made the necessary adjustments.
They've won four of their last five games, including victories over two of the league's hottest teams. Detroit sent the Los Angeles Lakers to their first loss of the season Friday night, halting the reigning Western Conference champions' seven-game win streak with a 106-95 victory in Los Angeles.
The Pistons followed that with a 104-86 loss to Phoenix on Sunday, but bounced back Wednesday night with a 96-89 victory over Cleveland, ending the Cavaliers' eight-game winning streak.
"It's early, but it's exciting," Iverson said.
Iverson had 23 points Wednesday and Rasheed Wallace scored 10 of his 21 points during a fourth-quarter surge that sealed the victory. The Pistons trailed by 11 at halftime before outscoring the Cavaliers 58-40 in the second half.
"It's not like we set out and said, 'Oh, these are the NBA's hottest teams.' We're just trying to make ourselves better," said Wallace, who added a season-high 15 rebounds. "We really don't care about what the other teams are doing at that moment. We just want to make ourselves better for June."
Wallace may be anticipating another postseason meeting with the Celtics (10-2), who have dominated the rivalry lately. Boston has won seven of the nine overall matchups between the teams, including four of six in May to claim the Eastern Conference championship.
This season's Celtics look capable of another long playoff run. They've won eight of their last nine games and boast the most victories in the league.
Boston overcame the absence of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett to beat New York 110-101 on Tuesday night. Paul Pierce scored 22 points to lead five Boston players in double figures.
"Not having a great player out there, you definitely miss him," said point guard Rajon Rondo, who had a season-high 15 points and added eight rebounds and seven assists. "But we tried to go out tonight and get the ball moving and that's what we did. ... A lot of guys got shots."
Garnett, who was suspended for the game because of a hard foul against Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut on Saturday, will be back in the lineup against the Pistons.
Detroit kept Garnett in check in the teams' first meeting of the season, limiting him to eight points and 4-for-15 shooting from the field - both season worsts. Pierce also struggled, totaling a season-low seven points and going 3-for-10 from the floor.
The Pistons, though, shot a season-low 34.7 percent against one of the league's top defenses. The Celtics are holding opponents to 39.9 percent shooting and 90.7 points per game, ranking first and second in the league in those respective categories.
(Thanks to the Associated Press for the assist)
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Thursday, 20 November 2008
Detroit Pistons @ Boston Celtics (8-3) (10-2) Chatroom | Forums The Detroit Pistons have cooled off two of...
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