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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- Paul Pierce was lucky to be back on a basketball court Wednesday night. His 28 points, though -- that was all skill.
|  | | Billy Owens, left, and Jerry Stackhouse won this battle with Paul Pierce, but Pierce won the war with the Pistons. |
The Celtics forward returned from an offseason stabbing to score
20 of his 28 points in the first half and lead Boston to a 103-83
victory over the Detroit Pistons. Antoine Walker had 33 points and 12 rebounds as the Celtics improved to 3-1 in season openers in the Rick Pitino era.
"I was happy to be out there. I was pumped. I kind of didn't want the game to end," Pierce said. "I feel lucky just to be here and to be around my teammates, to be able to play the game of basketball again.
"I realize how fortunate I am. You really grow up in a hurry."
One night after scoring a career-high 44 points in Detroit's
season-opening victory at Toronto, Jerry Stackhouse scored 20 but shot just 7-of-21. Chucky Atkins was 1-for-14 from the floor as the Pistons shot just 36 percent overall, falling behind 56-40 at the
half and coming no closer than nine in the second half.
Pierce was stabbed nearly a dozen times on Sept. 25 at the Buzz
Club, a nightclub in the Boston theater district. He missed three
preseason games recovering from what the Celtics described as
"injuries in an off-court incident."
"I told Paul on the court I was so glad he made it back,"
Pistons forward John Wallace said. "At the same time, I told him not to expect me to take it easy on him. I still banged on him out there."
Pitino said news of Pierce's stabbing brought to mind the
Celtics' troubles of the past, including the deaths of Len Bias and
Reggie Lewis. The franchise with the four-leaf clover as a logo
used to be considered lucky, winning a record 16 NBA titles.
But they haven't added to that total since 1986.
"A lot of people say the Celtics have had their tragedies,
which we have, obviously, with Len Bias and Reggie Lewis," Pitino
said. "But the Celtics have had the greatest tradition in all of
basketball. They had so many years when everything went their way.
"This, to me, is the greatest start of luck I've seen, (because) not only did Paul escape death, but he got back to full form mentally and physically. And I think that's miraculous for us.
"To me, as a basektball coach for 27 years, that's the most luck I've ever had."
Pierce returned for a preseason game against Chicago on Oct. 20
and scored 14 points in 22 minutes. He averaged 16 points over the
preseason, scoring 22 in the finale against Orlando last Friday.
He said that's when he knew he would be ready.
"I wasn't sure I would be 100 percent, but I knew I would be
ready," he said. "I didn't know I would be this ready."
Before Wednesday's opener, he went to center court before the
game and thanked the fans for their support, urging them to cheer
loudly and promising the Celtics would give maximum effort.
"It's been difficult, but I'm back," he said.
And he didn't wait long, scoring 12 of his points in the second
quarter. Walker had 12 in the first quarter and 21 by the half.
Game notes
Boston's first-round draft pick, Jerome Moiso, made his NBA
debut with 4:32 left in the first quarter. ... Walker left the game
briefly after catching an elbow in the mouth. He got two stitches
in his lip and returned. ... The Celtics raised a banner to honor
Chuck Cooper, who was the first black player to be drafted into the
NBA. The banner with Cooper's No. 11 will hang for the rest of the
season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 103
Detroit 83
Philadelphia 104
Toronto 98
Washington 95
Charlotte 77
Cleveland 102
Sacramento 100
Miami 105
Orlando 79
Seattle 112
Denver 99
Utah 97
LA Lakers 92
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Paul Pierce drives baseline on Jerry Stackhouse.
avi: 787 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Paul Pierce is happy to be playing basketball again.
wav: 140 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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