Pistons Win at Home, Head to Boston Tied 2-2

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Antonio McDyess refused to let the Detroit Pistons get pushed to the brink of elimination. McDyess had his best game of the playoffs, scoring 21 points and grabbing 16 rebounds to lift Detroit to a 94-75 series-evening win Monday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"He did everything," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said.

Game 5 is Wednesday night in Boston, then the Pistons will host Game 6 on Saturday night.

Boston's Big Three shot awfully as did most of the Celtics, but the NBA's top-seeded team stayed competitive for much of the game thanks to a stark disparity in free throws.

Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined to miss their first seven shots and finished 11-for-38 from the field.

Garnett and Pierce both scored 16 points and Allen had 11.

"They bumped us off spots and were more physical and aggressive all night," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Usually the winner is the team that was more aggressive.

"They had a no-layup rule and that's why we made it to the line so much."

McDyess led the Pistons' balanced attack.

"He's really comfortable right now," Rivers said. "We have to get him out of his comfort zone."

Richard Hamilton had 20 points, Rasheed Wallace scored 14, Chauncey Billups added 10 and reserve Jason Maxiell filled in for teammates in foul trouble by scoring 14 points and playing tough defense - especially against Garnett.

"I thought he bodied him and didn't give him anything easy," Saunders said.

Detroit scored the first 10 points of the game and started the second quarter with an 11-2 run, but led just 43-39 at halftime.

The Celtics stayed in the game by making 17 of 20 free throws in the first half while Detroit was 5-for-9.

Boston had more points from the line (32) than from the field early in the fourth quarter when it pulled within 67-62.

Detroit improved to 5-0 in games following losses in the playoffs and the Celtics fell to 1-7 on the road and 0-6 when trailing after three quarters.

"No one likes it, the way our team personality is," said Saunders, referring to the Pistons' penchant to play their best when down or doubted.

Boston reserve James Posey scored 11 points.

BOSTON (75): Pierce 3-14 10-11 16, Garnett 6-16 4-4 16, Perkins 4-6 2-4 10, R.Allen 2-8 7-9 11, Rondo 2-8 0-1 4, Brown 0-0 4-4 4, Cassell 0-3 0-0 0, Posey 3-6 4-4 11, Davis 1-4 1-2 3, House 0-0 0-0 0, T.Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Powe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-66 32-39 75.

DETROIT (94): Prince 3-12 1-2 7, McDyess 8-14 5-6 21, Wallace 6-9 2-2 14, Hamilton 8-10 4-4 20, Billups 3-12 3-5 10, Hayes 1-2 0-0 3, Maxiell 6-6 2-3 14, Stuckey 1-4 1-2 3, Hunter 0-1 0-0 0, Ratliff 0-0 2-2 2, Afflalo 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-70 20-26 94.

Boston 17 22 19 17-75

Detroit 22 21 22 29-94

3-Point Goals-Boston 1-9 (Posey 1-1, Cassell 0-2, Pierce 0-3, R.Allen 0-3), Detroit 2-9 (Hayes 1-2, Billups 1-3, Hunter 0-1, Wallace 0-1, Prince 0-2). Fouled Out-Perkins. Rebounds-Boston 51 (Garnett 10), Detroit 41 (McDyess 16). Assists-Boston 12 (Rondo 4), Detroit 27 (Billups, Hamilton 7). Total Fouls-Boston 24, Detroit 32. Technicals-Maxiell, Detroit Coach Saunders. A-22,076 (22,076).