76ers surprise Pistons after a 15-point deficit

Andre Miller scored 20 points and Willie Green had a career playoff-high 17, helping the visiting Philadelphia 76ers stun the Detroit Pistons, 90-86, Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Rasheed Wallace took the blame for the loss -- despite having 24 points, nine rebounds and matching a franchise playoff record with seven blocked shots.

The Eastern Conference’s second-seeded team was expected to beat the seventh-seeded 76ers by double digits and did lead by 15 midway through the third quarter.

But Philadelphia outscored them, 52-35, in the second half.

After the 76ers trailed, 62-47, Green made two baskets during a 10-0 run that sparked a comeback.

Miller gave Philadelphia a lead midway through the fourth quarter for the first time since late in the first.

Trailing by one point with 26 seconds left, the Pistons set up a play that created an open shot for Tayshaun Prince, but his jumper was short. After Andre Iguodala made one of two free throws with 11 seconds left, Wallace missed a shot near the basket that would have tied it at 88-88.

“I’m going to put this one me,” Wallace said. “There’s no excuses.

“The last bunny, that was a bucket I should’ve made. I’m going to take this one on the chin.”

Iguodala made two free throws with seven seconds left to seal the win.

“We’ve got to fire back on Wednesday,” Pistons Coach Flip Saunders said. “It’s a must-win game now.”

The Pistons, who have advanced to five straight conference finals, hadn’t lost a Game 1 in the first round since 2003 against Orlando.

Iguodala finished with a career playoff-high 16 points after a slow start and Reggie Evans had a career playoff-high 11 points and 14 rebounds.

“That’s Detroit,” Iguodala said. “They turn it on and turn it off.

“We just kept fighting the whole way.”

The 76ers started and closed strong despite being the least-experienced team in the playoffs, matching up with a team that trails only the San Antonio Spurs in combined playoff games.

“There’s no question that we grew up in the second half,” Philadelphia Coach Maurice Cheeks said.

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Boston 104, Atlanta 81 -- Ray Allen scored 18 points and Kevin Garnett had 16 as the two newcomers who led the host Celtics to the NBA’s best record sparked them to a playoff-opening victory.

Garnett stopped a 14-3 Hawks run with a jumper, starting a six-point Boston surge that made it 35-27 in the second quarter. And Allen scored 10 straight Celtics points midway through the third that extended a 13-point lead to 67-48 with 5:39 left in the period.

The Celtics’ lead ranged from 12 to 27 points afterward.

The second game of the best-of-seven series will be in Boston on Wednesday night.

Atlanta was led by rookie Al Horford with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Joe Johnson added 19 points. The Hawks fell to 0-4 this season against the Celtics with all of the losses by at least 10 points.

Garnett, playing in his first playoff series in four years, had skipped two days of practice for personal reasons before rejoining the team Saturday.

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Orlando 114, Toronto 100 -- Dwight Howard had 25 points and 22 rebounds, including six straight points in a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that sealed the host Magic’s first playoff win since 2003.

Howard also blocked five shots and made nine of 11 free throws. Jameer Nelson added 24 points.

The Raptors, who trailed by 20 points after the first quarter, drew within five with 10:24 left in the fourth on two quick three-point shots by Jason Kapono and an Anthony Parker jumper. But Toronto went scoreless for the next 3:16 as Orlando pulled away.

Parker had 24 points and eight rebounds for Toronto. Chris Bosh started one for six and scored 13 of his 21 points from the free-throw line (13 of 13), but he picked up four fouls in the third quarter and played limited minutes in the fourth.