Rajon Rondo's career high not enough to beat Pistons


The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics were locked in a close game until Ben Gordon sparked his team with four threes in the fourth quarter as Detroit built a late game lead as large as 13 and beat Boston at the TD Garden 98-88.

Rajon Rondo scored 35 points (a career high) while dishing out six assists and getting four steals. With Kevin Garnett sidelined, Chris Wilcox scored 17 points as a starter. Those were two great performances, however, the inability of Ray Allen (1-of-5) and Paul Pierce (3-of-11) to get much going really hurt Boston.

Ben Gordon sparked his team with 12 points in the fourth quarter and ended the game with 22. Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 25 points.

The Celtics fall to 15-13 while the Pistons improve to 9-22. Boston loses a winnable game they would've liked to have, as they'll now head out on the road to face teams such as Chicago, Dallas and Oklahoma City.