9.11.2018

Trap and Press Leads to Another W



November 24, 1997
This was a situation made for Rick Pitino's system. Give me your tired and weary and we will press them to death. That is exactly what happened last night; the schedule-maker gave the Celtics a wet kiss. And the result is a Celtics team finally above the water line, learning to swim instead of sinking like a stone.



The Detroit Pistons were the unfortunate human sacrifices for Pitino's parquet guerrillas. It was the Pistons' third game in four nights. They had played the night before and arrived at their hotel at 3 a.m. They were still working key guys back into the lineup. 

"We drew some stuff up on the blackboard," coach Doug Collins said afterward, "but what they do is something you can't simulate."

And what the Celtics did was turn on the spigot for the full 48. The result was 25 Detroit turnovers, as the Pistons reacted to the press as if it had just been introduced for the first time. The Celticscollected 28 points off Detroit's boo-boos, almost one-third of their production as they took a 90-86 decision before 17,070 at the FleetCenter.

The victory elevated the Celtics to a heady 7-6. It's been two years since they were above .500 this late in the season - and it's still early in the season. Pitino was so happy with the win and the way in which the team won - with defense - that he gave his troops a rare day off today.

They earned it. They struggled all night with their shooting and nearly gave it away at the end. But a key block by Pervis Ellison - he's starting to turn into a cult figure, as hard as that is to believe - and a key steal by Tyus Edney at the end sealed it.

"Our press really paid dividends," Pitino said, "because we had very little offense. The press enabled us to stay in the game and get some easy baskets. And I think it took the legs out of them."

Detroit limped off, having lost yet another close game, something that has been all too familiar this season. This was their seventh loss by 8 points or fewer and their fifth by 6 or fewer.

"We played hard, but we again found a way to lose," said Grant Hill, who got into foul trouble in the first half, but still had 21 points and 11 rebounds. (He also had, ahem, eight turnovers.) "It was a series of careless plays on our part."

Even with Detroit's troubles, the game still went down to the final seconds. The Celtics had a 10-point lead in the third, but the Pistons had opened the fourth with 9 unanswered points, taking the lead for the last time.

Boston got back up by 5, but Hill (5 for 12) made four straight freebies, the last two with 56.5 seconds to play, making it 83-82. Chauncey Billups missed a bomb, but Joe Dumars fouled Ron Mercer (16 points) on the rebound. The rookie calmly made them both.

Then came Ellison's big play. On Friday, he had swallowed up Chris Gatling at a critical time. This time, it was Hill. The Pistons bench screamed for a goaltending call or a foul. They got neither. Ellison later said he wasn't sure himself.

"We were so close to each other," he said. "If he had been further away, maybe it would have been. I don't know."

The Celtics got an easy basket off the block, a dunk by Antoine Walker, who again came up big (is there an echo?) with 29 points. But it still wasn't over.

A Brian Williams dunk made it 87-84, then Mercer missed two free throws. Hill was fouled with 7.6 seconds and made them both. It was a 1-point game again. Edney was fouled and made the first. But he missed the second and Malik Sealy got the rebound. He started downcourt, with OT looking like a possibility, but Edney swooped in from behind and knocked the ball away. With it went Detroit's chances.

The last time the Celtics were above .500 beyond the first game of the season was Dec. 15, 1995. They were 11-10, having just beaten the Raptors. They then lost their next five.

The Celtics have the Lakers, Suns, Cavaliers, Bulls, and Heat up next. Uh, coach, can you talk about the Lakers?

"Can I savor this one?" Pitino asked.

Who could blame him?

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