The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics play the pivotal Game 5 of their Eastern Conference finals series tonight at TD Banknorth Garden. Game 6 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Friday in Detroit.
On Monday, Antonio McDyess finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 2 Detroit to a wire-to-wire 94-75 victory over the top-seeded Celtics at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Game 4 of the set.
Richard Hamilton scored 20 points and handed out seven assists for Detroit, which evened the series at two games apiece. Rasheed Wallace and Jason Maxiell had 14 points apiece for the Pistons, who closed the game on a 16-2 run and shot 51.4 percent from the field.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce both scored 16 points, while Garnett pulled down 10 rebounds for Boston, which shot just 31.8 percent from the floor, including 1-for-9 from beyond the arc.
The Pistons and Celtics have both won two straight Game 5's in the postseason.
There is a lot of playoff history between these two franchises. Boston defeated the Pistons in the 1968, 1985 and 2002 semis, and also knocked out Detroit in seven games in the 1987 East finals.
Detroit has also won its share of playoff series against the Celtics. The Pistons eliminated Boston in the 1988 East finals, round one in 1989 and the 1991 semifinals.