Boston, MA (Best E Casino) - Kevin Garnett scored 33 points and hit the sealing free throws with 3.4 seconds left, as Boston held off Detroit, 106-102, to move ahead after five games of the Eastern Conference finals.
Ray Allen snapped out of a shooting slump to score 29 points, and Kendrick Perkins had the best playoff game of his career with 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Celtics.
Boston nearly wasted a 15-point fourth-quarter lead, but now holds a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series.
Paul Pierce netted 16 points for the Celtics, who moved to 10-1 at home this postseason. The only loss at TD Banknorth Garden came in Game 2 to the Pistons.
"(If) we don't get this game, we put ourselves in position to have to win another road game," Pierce said. "We know how tough it is to win out there in Detroit. It's one of the biggest games that we played all year long."
The trio of Garnett, Perkins and Allen combined to shoot 28-of-43. Allen, who was limited to 7-of-24 from the field in the previous two games, went 5-of-6 from three-point range.
Rajon Rondo scored seven on just 3-of-14 shooting, but had 13 assists for the Celtics, who can close out the series and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987 with a win in one of the next two contests. Game 6 is Friday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, and if necessary, the seventh game would be back in Boston Sunday night.
"I hope we don't think like that, with two games to do it," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "We just have to think about the next game. We have to have a great focus and a great intensity."
The Celtics will have to reverse a trend, though, to win the series on the road. They are 1-7 in away games in the playoffs, with the lone win coming in Game 3 of this series.
Chauncey Billups had 26 points and Richard Hamilton scored 25 before leaving in the final minute with a strained right elbow for the Pistons, who are in the East finals for a sixth consecutive year, but now are a loss away from being ousted. During its run, Detroit has advanced to the NBA Finals twice and has captured one championship.
Rasheed Wallace added 18 points and Rodney Stuckey 13 for Detroit, which was within a point with under 10 seconds left, but could never get over the hump.
Billups nearly came up with a steal on a pass to Rondo, but fouled him after a collision. Rondo made one free throw with 1:36 remaining, but 13 seconds later Stuckey nailed a three from the left corner to make it a 100-99 contest.
The Celtics continued to escape. Allen was trapped in the corner, but threw the ball off a Piston and out of bounds to keep possession for the Celtics with six seconds on the shot clock. Allen then drilled a shot from the left corner, with his right foot barely on the three-point line, with 1:02 remaining.
Billups then came up short on a driving shot in the lane, but Garnett missed a jumper from the right side at the other end. Hamilton seemed to hurt his right arm after being tangled with Allen near the basket. The Pistons came up with the ball, and while Stuckey was fouled with 8.2 seconds left, Hamilton remained in the backcourt holding his right elbow before going to the bench.
"It's sore right now," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said of Hamilton's elbow. "We're going to have to wait and see how it is tomorrow, wait and see how it is in 48 hours. He was great again tonight. Hopefully he's going to be ready to go for us."
Stuckey made both foul shots for the 102-101 margin, but Allen made both at the charity stripe with 6.3 seconds to go. Rondo then prevented a three- pointer by fouling Stuckey, who missed his first attempt with 4.5 seconds left and made the second instead of an intentional miss.
Garnett sank two from the line to seal the victory.
Perkins had a giant first half with 12 points and 13 rebounds, although it was tight for the opening 24 minutes. It was tied at 23 after the first, and the Pistons had four dunks in the second. They were ahead 42-36 with five minutes left in the half, but the Celtics scored the next 11, capped by a Pierce free throw.
A bank-shot three-pointer from Garnett had the Celtics ahead 50-43 with 1:23 left in the half, and it was 52-46 at the break.
The third quarter provided the Celtics crucial separation with Allen dialing long distance on consecutive possessions, extending the home team's lead to 68-54. Allen had 16 points in the stanza and the Celtics extended the lead to 17 on a pair of Perkins free throws with under two minutes left in the period.
Garnett's jumper provided Boston with the first points of the fourth for an 86-71 cushion, but the huge lead nearly fell apart as the Pistons responded with a 17-6 run. Billups' three-ball had Detroit within 92-88 with 4:47 remaining.
Game Notes
Celtics backup guard Tony Allen was inactive with an Achilles' tendon injury...Boston shot 50.7 percent from the field and dominated on the boards by a 42-25 margin...The Pistons went 11-of-21 from three-point territory...Wallace picked up a technical foul with 5:18 left in the game. It was his sixth of the playoffs, and one more will give him an automatic one- game suspension.
