Antonio McDyess scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 94-75 series-leveling win against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals on Monday. “He did everything,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. Game 5 is on Wednesday in Boston, then the Pistons will host Game 6 on Friday. Boston's Big Three shot awfully as did most of the Celtics, but the NBA's top-seeded team stayed competitive for much of the game thanks to a stark disparity in free throws. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined to miss their first seven shots and finished 11-for-38 from the field. Garnett and Pierce both scored 16 points and Allen had 11. “They bumped us off spots and were more physical and aggressive all night,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Usually the winner is the team that was more aggressive. They had a no-layup rule and that's why we made it to the line so much.” McDyess led the Pistons' balanced attack with his best game of the playoffs. “He's really comfortable right now,” Rivers said. “We have to get him out of his comfort zone.” Richard Hamilton had 20 points, Rasheed Wallace scored 14, Chauncey Billups added 10 and reserve Jason Maxiell filled in for teammates in foul trouble by scoring 14 points and playing tough defense – especially against Garnett. “I thought he bodied him and didn't give him anything easy,” Saunders said. Detroit scored the first 10 points of the game and started the second quarter with an 11-2 run, but led just 43-39 at halftime. The Celtics stayed in the game by making 17 of 20 free throws in the first half while Detroit was 5-for-9. Boston had more points from the line (32) than from the field early in the fourth quarter when it pulled within 67-62. “We didn't play well, but we hung in there by getting to the foul line,” Rivers said. “Then, we just couldn't make plays.” The Pistons built some nine-point leads, but they could not put the Celtics away. Billups essentially sealed the win with a 3-pointer with just under 3 minutes left, making some forget the offensive struggles he had for much of the game on his sore right hamstring. Detroit improved to 5-0 in games following losses in the playoffs and the Celtics fell to 1-7 on the road and 0-6 when trailing after three quarters. The San Antonio Spurs need to beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in Game 4 of the West finals to even their series.
