Schedule and 2002 Results
Regular Season Records: Boston 49-33, Detroit 50-32
Game 1 on Sunday, 5 May: Bos. loses at Det., 96-pts-84
Game 2 on Wednesday, 8 May: Bos. wins at Det., 85-pts-77
Game 3 on Friday, 10 May: Det. loses at Bos., 66-pts-64
Game 4 on Sunday, 12 May: Det. loses at Bos., 90-pts-79
Game 5 on Tuesday, 14 May: Bos. wins at Det., 90-pts-81

SERIES NOTES: Post Game 5 assessment: Boston visits and vanquishes Detroit 90-pts-81 to win their series 4-games-1. By doing so, Boston improves its best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 5 record to 12-5 (2-2 on the road), while that for Detroit falls to 4-5 (2-1 at home). Boston wins its 50th NBA best-of-7 playoff series, improving its series record to 50-14 (16-4 in the NBA Quarterfinals); Detroit's best-of-7 series record falls to 10-10 (5-5 in the NBA Quarterfinals). The win-order for Boston is LWWWW. Series 864 is the third best-of-7 NBA Quarterfinals series to follow this win-order, the eleventh best-of-7 NBA series (all rounds) to do so, and the 40th best-of-7 MLB, NBA, or NHL series (all rounds) to do so. The first best-of-7 MLB, NBA, or NHL series to follow an LWWWW win-order also produced a Boston victor: In best-of-7 series 11, the MLB Boston Red Sox won the 1915 World Series LWWWW. Post Game 4 assessment: Boston defeats Detroit 90-pts-79 to take a 3-games-1 series lead. The best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 4 record for the Boston Celtics is now 8-12 (2-2 at home), while that for the Detroit Pistons is now 8-2 (3-1 on the road). When leading a best-of-7 playoff series 3-games-1, Boston has a 20-0 series record; when trailing a best-of-7 playoff series 3-games-1, Detroit has an 0-2 series record. Post Game 3 assessment: Boston hosts and defeats Detroit 66-pts-64 to take a 2-games-1 lead in the series. Boston now has a 10-10 record in best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 3 play (4-3 at home). Detroit's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 3 record falls to 5-5 (3-3 on the road). When leading a best-of-7 series 2-games-1, the Boston Celtics have a 31-2 series record (losing the last two of such series). When trailing a best-of-7 series 2-games-1, the Detroit Pistons have a 2-6 series record (winning the last two of such series). The 130 total points scored in Game 3 is the lowest combined point total in a best-of-7 NBA playoff game since best-of-7 series 100 Game 6 (the 1954 NBA Finals), in which Syracuse defeated the Minneapolis Lakers, 65-pts-63, for a 128-point combined total. Post Game 2 assessment: Boston defeats Detroit 85-pts-77 to tie their best-of-7 series 1-game-all. The win improves Boston's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 2 record to 14-6 (3-4 on the road), while dropping said record for Detroit to 4-6 (3-3 at home). When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Boston Celtics have a series record of 20-9, while the Detroit Pistons have a series record of 6-4. Post Game 1 assessment: Detroit hosts and defeats Boston 96-pts-84 to take a 1-game-nil series lead. The win elevates Detroit's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 1 record to 7-3 (4-0 at home), and lowers that of Boston to 16-4 (2-2 on the road). When leading a best-of-7 series 1-game-nil, Detroit's series record is 9-2; when trailing 1-game-nil, Boston's series record is 6-10. Detroit has a 7-0 best-of-7 series record when playing Game 1 at home -- among MLB, NBA, and NHL teams, that 7-0 record is second only to the Chicago Bulls, which are 18-0 when Game 1 of a best-of-7 is at home. From 1947 through 2001, when a team won Game 1 of an NBA best-of-7 playoff series by 12 points, its series record was 15-2, but the Detroit Pistons suffered one of those two losses (in series 522 -- the 1988 NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers). Pre-series assessment: In the 2001-02 regular season, Detroit finished one regular-season game ahead of Boston. From 1947 through 2001, when NBA best-of-7 opponents were separated by one regular-season game, the team with the better regular-season record has gone on to post a 11-9 (.550) best-of-7 series record in that series against that opponent.