Celtics–Pistons rivalry Detroit played 6 in the first and 5 in the second. The Celtics won a hard fought series in 6. Boston went on to capture their 17th NBA title by defeating the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals. Boston wins series 4–2. Celtics–Pistons rivalry The Celtics–Pistons rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. The two teams played each other in the NBA playoffs five times from 1985–1991, with Boston winning in 1985 and 1987, and Detroit winning en route to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 1988 and 1989, and 1991. The
2010–11 Boston Celtics season Conference standings during the All-Star break. However, after center Kendrick Perkins, who was working his way back from a torn ACL in last year's Finals, was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder mid-season, the Celtics then started to play mediocre basketball after the trade, winning just 15 of their final 27 games. Still, they managed a 56–26 record and enter the playoffs as the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. They swept the New York Knicks, in four games in the first round to advance to the Conference Semifinals where they faced the Miami Heat, the team the Celtics defeated