Oct. 31, 1963 - How do you beat the Boston Celtics? The Pistons took another crack at it last night before 3,662 fans at Cobo Arena and came up short, 108-102. Some early clutch shooting by John Havlicek and a last-quarter hot streak by Tommy Heinsohn featured the Celtics’ attack. Detroit played a hustling defensive game, had their fast break working on occasion, and actually out-rebounded the Celtics, 70-69. But Boston had Bill Russell and out-defensed the Pistons. So, now the Celtics are the first team to win four in a row in October since the Dodgers. They’re off and running in their drive for their sixth straight NBA title — and who’s to stop them? Last night, the Boston guards, Sam and K.C. Jones or Havlicek, pestered the Pistons in the backcourt and forced them into many errors. When Detroit worked the ball forward, there was Russell. Russell, playing the full game as usual, captured 23 rebounds, got 5 assists, blocked shots from every angle and, in general, dominated the game. “Our mistakes — that’s what beat us,” Piston coach Charley Wolf said. “Those dozen times or so we gave up the ball without getting a shot off really hurt.” The official count of turnovers was 19 — and that, for the non-mathematicians, is a potential of 38 points. “We hit only 34% in the first half, and you don’t win many games that way,” said Wolf. Havlicek led all scorers with 22 points, while Heinsohn had 19. For Detroit, Bailey Howell scored 21 and Bob Ferry 20.
