After being down 18, the Celtics scratched and clawed their way back to tie things at 48 near the end of the half. However, they trail after 24 minutes of action, 52-48.
For those of you watching the Patriots, I wouldn't blame you early on. The Celtics only had 5 points as late as the 3:32 mark of the first quarter. They looked uninterested and flat.
Then, Boston responded after coach Doc Rivers ripped into his teams during a first-quarter timeout while calling their play "embarrassing."
Here are some thoughts:
* Although he hasn't scored much, Paul Pierce is impacting the game in other ways. He took a charge in the second quarter during their big run, played good defense, and even grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds.
* After a 9-0 run by Detroit to begin the second quarter, the Celtics finally woke up and responded with a 10-0 run of their own.
* On the other hand, the first quarter was just about as bad as it could get. The Celtics were not hitting their shots, Rondo was in foul trouble, and their defense was non-existent.
* Pick-and-roll defense killed the Celtics. Jason Terry was caught going underneath screens twice -- twice! -- leading to baskets. Right after that, the Celtics finally stepped it up.
* Detroit is still kicking Boston's you-know-what on the glass. They're out rebounding Boston 28-19.
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