Consider this a master class. Consider this a statement. Consider this a vivid reminder that man cannot live on home-court advantage alone, not if the stated goal is an NBA championship. What a wonderful night this was to be a member of, the coach of, the owner of, or just a plain old fan of the Detroit Pistons. This was a demonstration of professionalism. This was the way a good team acts wrote Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan.

The rules have changed. The formula has dissolved. If the Celtics are going to win a championship this spring, they are going to have to do something they have yet to do: win a playoff game away from home. Detroit Pistons, ladies and gents, are not the Atlanta Hawks, nor are they the Cleveland Cavaliers. They do not break out in hives when they hear boos. Thursday, they kicked some hometown butt, stifled the Causeway Street din, and walked out of the New Garden with a 103-97 victory over the Celtics.

The grapes sat unplucked, the spaghetti hardly touched. The Boston Celtics had cleared out of their locker room with a purpose not seen during much of the night as the Detroit Pistons handed them their first home loss of the playoffs, 103-97.

There would be no music, no time for a postgame buffet or even quick conversation. Guys just dressed quietly and bailed.

The Eastern Conference finals is now even at 1-1. The Celtics were now facing a must-win situation away from the Garden, and they failed to win in six tries on the road during the first two rounds of the playoffs.

And while everyone wanted to say it wasn’t a big thing – these repetitive road woes – the truth is that now we get to see the true mettle of Boston’s newfangled Big Three.

I don't know if Stuart Scott should be talking about looks, I'm pretty sure he's not even allowed to buy GQ, let alone be in it like Tayshaun once was. Isn't that the whole pot-kettle thing? (see video)

The Boston fans waved arms, beer cups, anything they had in their hands and howled at Detroit's Rasheed Wallace, who stood at the free-throw line with just more than 10 seconds remaining and his Pistons up by just three points.

For a few seconds, the TD Banknorth Garden rocked and sounded as loud as the old Boston Garden from a storied playoff past.

Then Wallace made one, and it was quiet like only an arena of a vanquished team can be quiet. The loss became obvious. The basketball world tilted a bit for Boston.

But the eye tells us the Celtics had to make tougher shots. The vision of the Pistons last night was of Rodney Stuckey and Rasheed Wallace launching shots in wide-open spaces.

At times it seemed as if the floor had been widened and no one told the Celts.

“I thought we were a step slower than we were in Game 1,” said Paul Pierce [stats]. “I think they did a great job at getting the ball from strong side to weak side, because we’re a strong-side defense. So it was tough once they reversed the ball and made us rotate those guys. We were a step late and those guys knocked down shots.”

“I just think that over the last five years they’ve had the most underrated backcourt in all of basketball,” Pierce said after the Celtics’ 103-97 Game 2 loss, which evened the Eastern Conference finals at 1. “You look at Chauncey and Rip Hamilton, and combined I think they’ve played in something like six All-Star Games. That is kind of mind-boggling, being that they’ve had so much success as a team."

If you're someone who grumbles that NBA players don't play defense, you should root for Pistons-Spurs (although Boston may play the best defense of the remaining playoff teams). If you complain you're sick of seeing NBA teams that don't play hard, root for Pistons-Spurs. If you love teams that win because of their commitment to team basketball, root for Pistons-Spurs. If you're sick of seeing basketball dominated by And-1 wannabes, root for Pistons-Spurs.

"If he knew the consequences and what would have happened if he messed up, it would be on his mind and he wouldn't play as well as he is," McDyess said.

Stuckey laughed when told of McDyess' analysis, and wholeheartedly agreed.

"For sure -- it is probably good that I don't know what I am getting into," Stuckey said. "But every time I do get into something, I'm trying to learn from it. The thing I want to do the most is control my turnovers. It doesn't matter what I do in other parts of the game if I'm turning the ball over. That's the control, the calm I need to have out here."

McDyess wasn't sure if he could make the extreme physical and emotional investment required to make another serious championship run.

The desire replenished itself rather quickly in the days following the end. McDyess signed a new contract, but he made a personal promise that he would no longer instinctively defer to those who were around for the Pistons' 2004 championship.

"We know how badly 'Dyess wants" a championship ring, Chauncey Billups said. "He's played great, but he's also playing a bigger role in the locker room. He's been a great leader for us."

"I hope it helps that we won the last time we played there," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "Having said that, even if we hadn't, we still have to go win."

Rivers was asked yesterday what the difference has been between his team's road play in the regular season and in the playoffs. He said that during the regular season, his team executed well on the road, rebounding well and playing great defense.

"We've done some of those things. We just haven't done them all for 48 minutes, and in the playoffs you have to," Rivers said.

"You can't really zone in on one guy (with Detroit)," Rivers said. "The two previous series, we had LeBron (for Cleveland) and Joe Johnson (for Atlanta). On this team, Rip (Hamilton) is probably No. 1 as far as them trying to get him the ball, but Chauncey (Billups), Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, (Antonio) McDyess has been terrific and you can add Stuckey to the mix. They have five, for sure, and six guys on certain nights they can go to."