Detroit and Boston have played four games and settled nothing. Therefore, the Eastern Conference finals boils down to a three-game series with the Celtics owning home-court advantage.

For tonight's Game 5, Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Boston (76-24 straight up, 59-39 against the spread) as a five-point favorite with a total of 174. As of early this morning, most spots had the Celtics at 5 ½ with the total adjusted down to 173. Gamblers can back Detroit (69-28 SU, 54-42 ATS) to win outright for a plus 200 return (risk $100 to win $200).

Detroit bounced back from Saturday’s Game 3 loss by thumping the Celtics 94-75 in Game 4 on Monday night. The Pistons jumped out to a double-digit lead early, withstood several Boston threats and pulled away late in the fourth quarter for the comfortable cover as six-point home favorites.

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Antonio McDyess exploded for a monster game, scoring 21 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. Richard Hamilton added 20 points and seven assists on 8-for-10 shooting from the field.

Jason Maxiell and Rasheed Wallace finished with 14 points apiece, combining to make 12-of-15 shot attempts. Maxiell converted all six of his tries in 20 big-time minutes off the bench. Wallace produced five blocks and five rebounds while forcing Kevin Garnett into a 6-for-16 shooting night.

Chauncey Billups continued to struggle from the field (3-12 FGA in Game 4; 1-6 in G’3), but he played a steady floor game with a 7/0 assist-turnover ratio and two steals.

Boston’s Big Three came up small in the losing effort. Garnett and Paul Pierce finished with 16 points apiece, while Ray Allen had just 11. The trio combined to miss 27 of their 38 shots from the floor.

Nevertheless, the Celtics still salvaged a split in Motown thanks to Saturday’s 94-80 triumph as five-point underdogs. They hooked up money-line backers with a generous plus 200 return at most books.

The Game 3 victory was Boston’s first road win in seven playoff games. Six players scored in double as figures as Boston basically dominated from the get-go. KG paced the balanced scoring attack, scoring 22 points to go with 13 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.

Sam Cassell had the audacity to talk about his frustration over a lack of playing time following the Game 3 win, yet he failed to score in 16 minutes of play in Game 4 (more on this topic below).

These teams split the two previous games in Beantown, with the C’s capturing an 88-79 win in Game 1. In Game 2, Detroit responded with a 103-97 victory.

The ‘under’ has gone 3-1 in the series, with Game 2 producing the lone ‘over.’

Tip-off for Game 5 is scheduled for 8:35 p.m. Eastern tonight. ESPN will provide television coverage.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--Ray Allen was a combined 1-for-9 from 3-point range in Games 3 and 4 at Detroit.

--The ‘under’ is 7-1 in the last eight Boston-Detroit encounters.

--The ‘under’ is 29-21 for Boston at home, 26-22 for Detroit on the road.

--The Celtics are 31-19 ATS at home, but the Pistons are 23-24 ATS on the road.

--Sam Cassell has always been one of my favorite players. He’s enjoyed an outstanding NBA career and is one of the best point guards in ACC history. Cassell garnered national attention for the first time when he led Pat Kennedy’s FSU team to a win at North Carolina, infamously dubbing the Dean Dome’s inhabitants as a ‘wine-and-cheese’ crowd after the victory. He collected two rings during his days with the Rockets and has since led a pair of teams (Milwaukee and Minnesota) to their lone appearances in the conference finals during the last couple of decades. On the Power Hours, I’ve even gone so far as to say Cassell might be a borderline Hall of Famer (probably not, but certainly worthy of a discussion). With all that said, Cassell’s untimely comments before Game 4 could understandably and irrevocably tarnish his image.

Bottom line: When your team is deep in the playoffs and collects a huge road win to come within two games of making the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987, you don’t rock the boat.

If you do, don’t miss all three of your shots when the team loses its next game. Seriously, what's Cassell trying to do, become Beantown's basketball version of Bill Buckner?

--I've got plays galore in tonight's MLB pick pack and this pay-if-it-wins-only selection for the Pistons-Celtics.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.