AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - At the beginning of the season, the big question about the Celtics was whether their star trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen could play together.
After they proved they could, the next thing questioned was Boston's schedule. After they went 4-0 on a recent West Coast road trip, skeptics pondered whether the Celtics could beat Detroit, the longtime Eastern Conference power, on the road after losing to the Pistons at home?
Now, after getting a huge 92-85 revenge win at The Palace of Auburn Hills last night, the Celtics want to know if there are any more questions.
"More than anything we were able to prove something to ourselves, coming out here, despite anything that happened leading up to this game," Allen said. "We were playing arguably one of the best teams in the NBA and beat them. We heard a lot over the last couple of weeks about our schedule and who we haven't played. So you feel good about it for ourselves . . . It was a great win just for ourselves. We can always look back at it and learn from it."
Rookie forward Glen Davis scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter by making all six field goal attempts to spark the Celtics, who own an NBA-best 29-3 record and have won nine straight on the road and an NBA-best nine straight overall.
Detroit (26-8) had its NBA-best 11-game winning streak and seven-game home winning streak end.
"This was a test game," Pierce said. "We needed to find a lot about ourselves in this game. It was on the road. Detroit's the hottest team in the league. There were all kinds of excuses you could have about losing this game. We still are growing up as a team. We're still learning about ourselves. But this is a character win. This is a look-deep-inside-you-and-see-what-you're-about type of win."
Sparked by Davis, the Celtics outscored the Pistons, 29-19, in the fourth quarter. Pierce had 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists while Garnett added 15 points. Boston limited Detroit to 39.2 percent shooting and scored 27 second-chance points.
"They're a really good defensive team, especially strong inside," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said.
The Celtics entered last night's game still bitter over an 87-85 loss to the Pistons Dec. 19 at TD Banknorth Garden. It is Boston's only home loss this season - and it hasn't lost since.
"We felt like we let one get away," Pierce said about the previous Detroit meeting.
Said Allen: "We were definitely looking forward to it."
The Pistons didn't really need to make much of a statement as they won a 2004 NBA championship and have been the Eastern Conference's top team this decade. But for these new and improved Celtics, getting a win in Detroit proved that they are more than for real.
"It was a nice win," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We came back and returned the favor. They beat us on our floor and we came back and beat them on theirs. Unfortunately, there are quirks in the schedule and we only play them three times this year.
"But it was a fun game and we got excited. Our team needed it and it was good for our team."
The Celtics were down as many as 12 points (24-12) in the first half before ending with a 31-17 run to go into the half trailing, 43-41. Garnett scored only 3 points in the first half after being limited by three fouls. The Celtics' 10 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points in the first half kept them in the game.
"We weren't being aggressive," Pierce said. "Detroit was really being aggressive with the defense. We had to pick up our pressure. So we picked up our pressure full court."
Detroit outscored the Celtics, 23-22, in the third quarter to take a 66-63 lead. Allen joined Garnett in foul trouble by picking up his fourth in the third quarter. Ex-Celtic Chauncey Billups scored 11 of his 17 points and nailed two 3-pointers in the third to spark Detroit.
In need of a spark in the fourth quarter, Davis surprisingly provided it.
The 6-foot-9-inch, 289-pounder entered the game averaging 4.2 points and had scored a combined 10 points in the previous five games.
But Davis scored 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, converted 3 of 4 3-point play opportunities, and grabbed a key late offensive rebound to push Boston to the big win.
Davis's lay-in with 56.9 seconds left gave Boston an 88-84 lead. Billups made 1 of 2 free throws with 47.5 seconds left to slice Detroit's deficit to 88-86. But Davis fittingly sealed the game with a lay-in with 8.5 seconds left to push Boston up, 90-86.
"[Davis] came up big [against] us," Billups said. "He got a lot of [3-point plays] and finished well around the basket. He was an unlikely hero, but you got to give him credit. He played good and they just outplayed us."
Said Davis: "I just know to be ready to play. You never know when [Rivers] is going to call your number. You got to set your mind to feel like you're ready to play every game."
