Lets move on to Boston Detroit tomorrow

Or, more accurately, the greatest edge.

The Eastern Conference finals are exactly where they should be now, tied at two games following Detroit’s 94-75 victory at The Palace of Auburn Hills last night. The Celtics got the one win they needed here on Saturday before last night’s predictable defeat, but this is still their series to win. Game 5 is in Boston. So is Game 7. And the Celtics need to win them both.

“I think they bumped us off spots, were more aggressive and were more physical all night,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Usually, the win goes to the team that’s more aggressive, and (last night) it was them.

“Even though we got to the line (39 times), they were the more physical team by a longshot. I thought our guys had the right spirit, and I think they wanted to play, (but) I think Detroit attacked more, and that was the difference.”

Really, what did you expect? After dropping Game 3, the Pistons showed up last night with their season on the line. A Detroit loss would have meant a 3-1 series deficit with two of the final three games scheduled in Boston, and even the Pistons knew they could not pull that off. Detroit played with tenacity from the start, grabbing the game by the throat, choking the Celtics at every turn.

The good news, as Pistons coach Flip Saunders pointed out following Game 3, is that the Celtics have not lost control of a series yet. They have never really had to play from behind. After the Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the second round, Rivers noted that his club also had won a pair of Game 5s. In fact, the Celtics have taken every swing game they have played this postseason, winning each time any series has been even.

They are 3-0 in Game 1s.

They are 2-0 in Game 5s.

They are 2-0 in Game 7s.

Add in Saturday’s victory here after the Celtics suffered their first home loss of the postseason, and Rivers’ team is a sterling 8-0 this postseason when facing the threat of a series deficit.

The Pistons, on the other hand, have been nothing if not maddeningly inconsistent, which makes them equally dangerous and frustrating.

“We give you guys a lot to write about,” Saunders mused. “No one likes the way the personality of our team is, and what we’ve got to do now is (try) to win two games in a row. Usually, whoever wins two games in a row really takes control of a series. Neither us nor Boston has been able to win two, so hopefully we’re going to go in there (tomorrow) and do what we need to do.”

Of course, so do the Celtics, who certainly need to play better than they did last night. Truth be told, the Celtics were lucky to be in this game at all, down 10-0 just three minutes into play, trailing by 14 in the second quarter. Before James Posey hit the first 3-pointer of the game (for either team) with 9:08 to play in the fourth quarter, the Celtics actually had scored more points from the free throw line (32) than they had from the field (30).