May 6, 2002 4 min read

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – The Detroit Pistons tried their best to deflect the attention away from the obvious reasons they took a 1-0 lead in their series against Boston. Sure, they were pleased to make a team playoff-record 12 3-pointers and were glad to remain undefeated when Cliff Robinson and Jerry Stackhouse both score at least 20 points.

But they insisted it was all about their defense.

Robinson scored 30 points, and Stackhouse had 26 points and set career playoff highs with 11 rebounds and eight assists as Detroit beat the Boston Celtics 96-84 on Sunday to win Game 1 in the best-of-seven second-round series.

The Pistons held Boston to 37.5-percent shooting – Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce combined to shoot just 14-of-39. Walker scored 20 and Pierce was limited to 17, one game after he scored 46 in Game 5 against Philadelphia.

“It’s always about our defense when we win,” said Robinson, who was the lead defender against Walker and was two points shy of his best postseason performance. “We may not be able to continue shooting and scoring like this, but we have to stick with this defensive effort because defense is our staple.”

Michael Curry scored a career playoff-high 15. He made just seven 3-pointers during the regular season, but made three on three attempts against the Celtics on Sunday.

“Despite what we did offensively, I don’t want anybody to overlook what we defensively,” said Curry, who played a season-high 40 minutes to be Pierce’s shadow. “That’s going to be the key for us if we’re going to win this series.”

Pierce said his scoring was down not because of what the Pistons did, but because his aggressive teammates took some shots away. He was 7-of-17 while players such as Kenny Anderson, who scored 17, and Rodney Rogers took a combined 27 shots.

“I just didn’t have the number of opportunities that I’ve had,” said Pierce, who averaged four more shots per game against the 76ers.

The Pistons were 11-0 during the season when both Robinson and Stackhouse scored at least 20. The duo did it for the first time in the playoffs on Sunday to extend the streak.

“I think too much is made of that,” said Detroit coach Rick Carlisle, who like his players, wanted to talk about the team’s defensive effort.

When the Pistons made a flurry of 3-pointers in the third, they essentially put Boston away.

Detroit made five 3-pointers in the final 6:48 of the third, including Curry’s shot as the quarter ended, to take a 78-62 lead.

With the Pistons ahead by 20 early in the fourth, Boston went on an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 86-77 on Anderson’s three-point play with 6:29 left.

Robinson’s mid-range jumper put Detroit ahead 91-79 with 4:01 left. Rogers’ 3-pointer pulled the Celtics within seven with 2:41 to go, but they could not get closer.

Both teams were in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since shortly after their glory years, when they often met in May. Detroit and Boston split four playoff series between 1985 and “89, and last met in 1991 when the Pistons beat the Celtics in the second round.

That was the last time Detroit advanced in the playoffs, which was the season following its consecutive NBA titles. The Celtics won a playoff series for the first time since 1992, Larry Bird’s last season.

The Celtics are 2-9 in their last 11 playoff games on the road.

NOTES: Robinson made six 3-pointers, which tied Bill Laimbeer’s team playoff record from the 1990 NBA finals against Portland during Robinson’s rookie season. … Detroit rookie center Zeljko Rebraca will miss the series because he broke his right hand during practice Saturday. … Carlisle played for the Celtics from 1984-87. The last time Boston beat Detroit in the playoffs was 1987, when Carlisle was on the team, but injured, and his boss, team president Joe Dumars, was playing shooting guard for the Pistons.