Celtics Low-Ball Pistons, 66-64

A game in which both teams had trouble scoring was decided on a shot that didn’t count.

Jerry Stackhouse banked in a three-point basket a split-second after the final buzzer, and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Detroit Pistons, 66-64, Friday night for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

With or without Stackhouse’s shot--replays confirmed that the ball left his hand too late--it was the lowest-scoring game in the NBA playoffs since the shot clock was added in 1955. The 130 combined points were far below the previous low of 142 registered three times, twice in 2000. The Celtics shot 34.6%, the Pistons 34.8%.

“It was ugly,” said the Celtics’ Paul Pierce, who scored six of his 19 points in the final 1:48.

Celtic Coach Jim O’Brien didn’t care what the game looked like. “It’s not a dance theater. If you get a ‘W,’ you go home with a big grin on your face,” he said.

Pierce made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to give Boston a 66-62 lead. Then Kenny Anderson unwittingly fouled Chucky Atkins while Atkins was shooting a harmless three-point shot. The Piston guard made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left and missed the third on purpose. Pierce bounced the rebound high off the floor, and Stackhouse grabbed it beyond the arc and put it up. The referees waved the shot off as the ball was in the air.

“Unfortunately, it was like one of those ground balls that bounces off home plate. It just bounced too high in the air, which ate up the clock,” Piston Coach Rick Carlisle said.

It was no accident.

Pierce said he knew he could kill the final few seconds with a high bounce. The team has never discussed such a strategy.

“I told him, ‘Next time, bounce it so it hits the rafters,’” O’Brien said. “If it was about six inches lower, I would be crying right now.”

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Low Points

*--* The Fewest total points scored in an NBA playoff game since the 24-second shot clock was introduced in 1954-55 season: 130 Boston (66) def. Detroit (64), May 10, 2002 142 New York (72) def. Miami (70), May 19, 2000 142 Phoenix (72) def. San Antonio (70), April 22, 2000 142 Detroit (79) def. Atlanta (63), May 12, 1999 143 Chicago (75) def. Miami (68), May 22, 1997 145 Fort Wayne (74) def. Syracuse (71), April 7, 1955 145 New York (79) def. Atlanta (66), May 24, 1999

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