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Boston holds serve

Detroit Pistons forward Antonio McDyess, left, strips the ball from Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen on Tuesday. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review
Detroit Pistons forward Antonio McDyess, left, strips the ball from Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen on Tuesday. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Not even a week of rest could prepare the Detroit Pistons for the hottest home team in the NBA.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and nine rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 22 points Tuesday to give Boston an 88-79 win over the Pistons to open the Eastern Conference finals at Boston, the Celtics’ 15th straight home win.

Despite having just one day off after an epic Game 7 that eliminated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from the conference semifinals, Boston scored the first eight points against a Detroit team that waited six days for the series to start.

“Rest is not an option,” Garnett said. “So we don’t even think about that.”

Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds for Boston and Rajon Rondo scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:47 left in the game after the Pistons cut the deficit to 83-75. Rondo also had seven assists and five steals while outplaying Chauncey Billups, who returned from a right hamstring injury.

“I believe in him. I play him. I’m going to keep playing him,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of his point guard.

The Celtics earned home court through the playoffs with a league-best 66-16 regular-season record and rode that advantage to seven-game victories in series against Atlanta and Cleveland. On Tuesday they improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs, but they’re 0-6 on the road.

While Detroit rested, the Celtics have been playing every other day. Boston’s 15 games are the most of any team still in the postseason.

Billups scored nine points with two assists, two steals and two turnovers in his first game since May 7. Tayshaun Prince scored 16 points for the Pistons. Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey (Eastern Washington University) had nine points and three rebounds.

Around the league

Former NBA star Charles Barkley has retired his debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino that sued him after he failed to pay $400,000 in gambling loans. But the civil lawsuit remains open, and it’s going to cost Barkley $40,000 more to get out of the legal doghouse. … The NBA playoffs are drawing higher television ratings than last season. The 36 games on TNT through the first two rounds have averaged a 2.4 rating, up 14 percent from last year. … Denver Nuggets coach George Karl has undergone left hip replacement surgery.