1988 Eastern Conference Finals: Pistons Draw First Blood

5/26/1988

Euphoria is nontransferable from Sunday to Wednesday, and so, apparently, is skill. The Boston Celtics, so noble on Sunday against Atlanta, were appallingly mortal last night, shooting 36 percent in the second half and suffering the worst imaginable consequence -- a first-game loss to the Detroit Pistons. With the second game of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals coming up tonight (8, SportsChannel), the deeper Pistons have a chance to drive a stake the length of Chile through the Celtics' heart with a triumph. But they chose not to gloat.

"It's a seven-game series," said a very subdued Chuck Daly after guiding his team to a long-awaited 104-96 Boston Garden triumph over the Celtics. "You've got to win four." Isiah Thomas also mouthed the Piston party line. "It's the first to win four," he said, "not the first to win one." This series won't last long if Isiah plays many games the equal of the masterpiece he submitted last night. Word had filtered east that the erstwhile Pocket Magic had been acting like a supreme orchestrator of late, and he demonstrated the validity of that scouting report with his magnificent 35-point, 12-assist performance. Everything he did looked effortless as he taunted the Celtics with soft perimeter jumpers, skillful drives and clever feeds, the biggest of which was a pick-and-roll dish to Dennis Rodman for a clinching dunk with 1:30 remaining (96-89).

Isiah slipped the stiletto into the Bostonians all night long, but never more so than during the decisive fourth quarter, when he scored 15 points. Included in his bounty were three three-point possessions, the result of two downtown three-point shots (78-73, 90-82) and a vintage Isiah gutsy drive which produced a basket and foul on Robert Parish (87-82). He did everything a guard is supposed to do in this game, posting impressive numbers right down to the final stat sheet column, where he registered a scant two turnovers in 44 minutes. Detroit had come heavily advertised as The Beast With Nine Heads, and it was that tremendous depth which also helped propel the Pistons to their first Garden victory since Dec. 19, 1982, or 21 agonizing games ago. For the Pistons managed to carve out this satisfying conquest of the hated Celtics on a night when starting center Bill Laimbeer missed the final 19 minutes with an injury to his right shoulder, and when both Adrian Dantley and John Salley were in foul trouble.

To the Celtics, a comparable situation would be a catastrophe. For Daly & Co., it's a minor irritation. Daly plucked Rodman (9 rebounds) and James Edwards (6 points, 6 assists and a block) from his well-stocked bench, and Detroit life went on just fine. The teams went through a spurty first period (Boston went from 10-6 down to 18-13 up to 23-21 down, etc.) and a hard-fought second quarter (which left the Celtics ahead, 53-52, at the half). Detroit was having its usual difficulty containing Kevin McHale (31, with 16 in the first half), but the Pistons were operating satisfactorily at the other end, shooting 56 percent from the floor.

Boston made its move at the outset of the third period, extending the lead to 61-54. Detroit was cold from the floor here, and even more miserable from the line. But the Celtics could not benefit from the Detroit offensive struggle. It was 70-64, Celtics, when Thomas kicked off a run of 7-0 with a get-back fast break three-point play in the exhaust fumes of a Larry Bird lefty drive with 3:20 left. That would be the last Boston hoop for five minutes, until a falling-down three-pointer by Danny Ainge (a girl-with-the-curl-in-the-middle-of-the-foreheadish 18) halted a Detroit spree which had put the visitors up, 80-73.

A McHale floater and Bird's only fourth-quarter hoop (What is this? No Dominique, no challenge? Just kidding) tied it at 80, but the unflustered Pistons struck back with successive hoops by Adrian Dantley. At 84-82 following a McHale layup, Thomas came up with the back-to-back threes, and the Celtics never seriously threaten again. K.C. Jones was not pleased with his team's thought process. "We had very bad decision-making most of the game as far as shot selection and ballhandling were concerned," he declared. "We would push it up and then fire from outside. That's not the way to play against the Detroit Pistons, because when they get those long rebounds, they're off on a fast break.

"We just didn't show patience at the offensive end," he continued. "When we did, like in the third quarter, we got a decent lead of 6 or 7 points. But we couldn't hold it. We started firing it up again." There's very little time now for the Celtics to reflect on their sins. They'll throw the ball up a little after 8 tonight.

Can you say "Must Game," boys and girls?