NBA: Boston Celtics breeze past the Detroit Pistons to keep them winless; Rajon Rondo star of the show
Detroit Pistons were left heartbroken after the Chicago Bulls came from a deficit of 21 points to beat them 101-91 in the last match. The Pistons came into the match on the verge of their worst start in the season since 1999, where
they lost four in a row. The home team was hoping for a change of fortunes in this match, but Boston Celtics, who pinned the much-hyped Miami Heat outfit in the season opener, had other ideas as they handed them a 23-point thrashing in a match that witnessed
the Pistons not getting into the lead even once in the match.
The star of the show though was Rajon Rondo - the phenomenal Celtics guard who has started the season in style with an unbelievable 16.7 assists per game - who was on top of his game again. He made most of the play for the Celtics
with 17 assists as they cruised to their second consecutive victory.
In what was mostly a lopsided contest, the Celtics maintained an upper hand right from the starting whistle. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce led the offensive for the Celtics. Garnett scored 10 points in the first period and Pierce
also netted 9 points as the teams ended the quarter at 31-26 in the favour of the Celtics.
The Celtics kept up their tempo going into the second quarter and sprinted to a 10-2 run at the start. They continued their momentum after that as well to keep a deflated Pistons outfit at bay before finishing the quarter on a
high note with two consecutive 3-pointers. The Celtics marched into the break leading their opponents by a margin of 13 points at 57-44.
The trend continued in the third quarter, with the Celtics extending their lead by another seven points to finish the quarter. Pierce was particularly severe as he scored 12 points in that period. The fate of the match was sealed
at about that time, as the Detroit Pistons failed to cope up with the offensive prowess of the Celtics.
The teams went into the fourth quarter with the score poised at 88-68 and the Celtics holding on to a comfortable margin of 20 points. Although the Pistons opened this period with a 3-pointer from Austin Daye, they could not back
it up with any sort of pressure as the match finished with a score line of 109-86.
The Celtics had impressive figures in the match as they shot 42-for-81 to go with 33 assists. Kevin Garnett led the scoring for the Celtics with 22 points shooting 9-for-12. Paul Pierce chipped in with 21 points and 5 rebounds
while J. O’Neal, Ray Allen and Glen Davis also got to double figures.
The Pistons, on the other hand, displayed another spineless performance and just bowed in front of the relentless pressure by the Celtics offense. On the offensive front as well, they lacked intensity, shooting 44.9 percent at
35-for-78 and could only muster 13 assists, not even half of what the Celtics managed and four less than Rondo alone. Charlie Villanueva led the scoring for the Pistons, slipping in 17 points and seven rebounds. Austin Daye also scored 16 points to round off
a forgettable game for the Pistons.
The Pistons slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat of the season in front of a 15,313 strong home crowd, who watched in despair as the Celtics clinically exploited the defensive weaknesses of a Pistons team that is lacking
in confidence.
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