Celtics win rematch with rival Pistons

In one of the top regular-season matchups in years, an unlikely player was the difference.

Just like the last time Boston played Detroit.

Rookie Glen Davis scored a career-high 20 points, giving the Celtics' Big Three a huge lift in a 92-85 win over host Detroit on Saturday night in a marquee matchup that lived up to its billing.

For the first time this season, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce nor Ray Allen was the Celtics' leading scorer.

"They were stopping me and stepping up against Ray and Garnett," Pierce said. "And, that left Baby open."

Like Davis, Lindsey Hunter came off the bench and his feisty defense proved to be the pivotal factor in Detroit's 87-85 win on Dec. 19 at Boston.

Pistons coach Flip Saunders chose to keep Hunter inactive because he wants rookie Rodney Stuckey to gain experience for a possible matchup with the Celtics that will really matter.

Even though the NBA-leading Celtics (29-3) are off to a dominant start, coach Doc Rivers said it was important to beat the Pistons, who advanced to the past five conference finals, won the 2004 title and gave Boston its only loss at home.

"Our players needed this," Rivers said. "We needed to return the favor."

The NBA probably wishes it could've asked both teams a favor, rescheduling the game to a day when more people could've watched it instead of the NFL playoffs.

Boston and Detroit entered the game with a combined winning percentage of .844, the third highest in the shot clock era after at least 30 games.

Nets 113, Hawks 107: Jason Kidd had 10 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds for his ninth triple-double of the season, and New Jersey won its fifth straight, rallying past host Atlanta.

The Nets opened the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run, and they (17-16) moved above .500 for the first time since November.

Rockets 103, Knicks 91: Yao Ming scored 30 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 6 assists, and host Houston won for the fourth time in six games without Tracy McGrady.

Rookie point guard Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 22 for the Rockets.