Pistons

Chauncey Billups hit two free throws with a tenth of a second left and the Detroit Pistons handed the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the season last night, 87-85. The Celtics (20-3) had matched their best start ever, also achieved by the 1963-64 team that won the NBA title. Billups, who scored 12 of his team-high 28 points in the final quarter, was fouled by Tony Allen in a matchup of the Eastern Conference's top teams. "It was playoff-intense, pretty aggressive out there," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said.

NBA Pistons @Celtics 7 p.m. [ESPN] First-place Boston (Atlantic Division) vs. first-place Detroit (Central) is a possible NBA Eastern Conference finals preview. It's not even Christmas yet, but the 20-2 Celtics are on a record-setting pace and undefeated at home. The Pistons (17-7) have been hot, winning nine of their past 11 and playing superior defense.

Moves Baseball BLUE JAYS -- Optioned IF Hector Luna to Triple-A Syracuse. Recalled IF Russ Adams from Syracuse. GIANTS -- Placed P Randy Messenger on 15-day DL. Recalled P Patrick Misch from Triple-A Fresno. PADRES -- Recalled P Clay Hensley from Triple-A Portland. Optioned P Joe Thatcher to Portland. ROCKIES -- Placed P Aaron Cook on 15-day DL. Purchased contract of P Elmer Dessens from Triple-A Colorado Springs. TWINS -- Claimed IF Chris Basak off waivers from Yankees. Basketball NETS -- Signed G Robert Hite.

This guy wearing No. 23 for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night - where did they get him from? And why did they get rid of the guy who wore that jersey in last year's playoffs? To watch LeBron James not even think about taking that shot in the final seconds of Game 1 of the Eastern finals against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night - to make his move down the lane, drive past Tayshaun Prince, have at least a full step on any and every other Pistons defender, get right under the basket, and then kick it 25 feet to the corner so Donyell Marshall can try a game-winning three - is to wonder if the LeBron from the 2006 first-round series against the Washington Wizards and the second-round series against these same Pistons had been kidnapped.

Good morning -- Detroit Pistons -- No need for the Jordan Rules, but you're ruling the Chicago Bulls.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Back when NBA salaries, at least at the low end, still maintained a link with the common man, Miami Heat forward Grant Long was asked whether he deemed it worthwhile to bend his 6-foot-9 frame for a stray dollar bill on a sidewalk. Long, who never met currency he couldn't appreciate and was out selling medical supplies the day his NBA career ended, was incredulous. That dollar, he said, meant lunch. For a man who once housed his family over an entire season at a Fairfield Inn along Florida's Palmetto Expressway, even the smallest of denominations had value.

DETROIT -- Next door to Comerica Park sits St. John's Episcopal Church, where an electronic sign beckons with bright orange letters, "Pray here for the Tigers." The plea should erase any doubt that religion and baseball intersect sharply in the Motor City. But the role sports plays - the role the Tigers play - can be a bit tougher to dissect. The electricity that flowed through the stadium for last night's World Series opener was evident - so evident, in fact, that first glance would lead you to believe it lit up the whole neighborhood.

Pat Riley kept saying it wasn't about him. The coach and vice president of the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat hasn't been wrong about much this season, even if the way he got to where he is has a lot of wrong about it. But on the night the team he built finally reached the NBA Finals, he was wrong about whose victory this really was. It was a win for Shaquille O'Neal - but Riley pulled the trigger on one of the great thefts of all time, from...