BOSTON -- The Pistons vow to be more aggressive when they take the floor against the Celtics on Thursday night for Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals.

"I was disappointed the way we came out. We have to be better than that," Richard Hamilton said before practice Wednesday at Emerson College's Piano Row Gymnasium, three floors below Boylston Street.

"We're a better team than that. They hit us first, and we like to hit first," he said.

Detroit had a week off between series and rested while Boston fought Cleveland for seven games. But it was Detroit that was sluggish Tuesday night.

"We didn't start the game well. We didn't start the quarter well. We got outscored, I think it was 23 points in the first four minutes of each half and the last three minutes of the first half, and you can't just do that," coach Flip Saunders said.

"Part of it was we knew coming in [because of] our layoff we were maybe going to be a little bit not as competitive early, but I thought when we got to 41-40 and got into it we were OK. But in the third quarter, when we should have jumped on them, we just didn't. We didn't get it done. We turned the ball over too much and beat ourselves. ... When it was a close game, we turned it over seven times and don't give ourselves a chance."

The Pistons also failed to move the ball against the Celtics' defense.

"When we move the ball, do what we want to do -- like moving, driving, getting some movement -- we're OK. We got locked in on one side a lot and weren't aggressive," Saunders said. "Against good teams, you want to pick the pace up and get in your offense quicker, so you can get to your second and third option on your offense, and then you have to make the extra pass. When we made the extra pass, we had guys with open shots and we were able to get some penetration. When we didn't do that, then we got locked in on one side and held the ball and we were taking a lot of contested shots."

The Pistons shot 42.4 percent, only slightly below their playoff average of 45.5 percent.

Billups won't make excuses

Chauncey Billups showed the effects of the strained hamstring that sidelined him for the last two games of the Orlando semifinals, especially early in the game.

"I thought in the fourth quarter he started getting into it a little bit more, his comfort level, being a little bit more aggressive. But he hadn't played in 10 days. That's to be expected for a guy who hasn't had any type of competition, as far as game-type competition," Saunders said.

Billups doesn't expect to be 100 percent for this series, but won't make excuses for his performance.

"It's something you have to fight through, not something you make excuses about. I'm not that type of guy. I'm going to go out there and grind. ... That's the bottom line. Just go out and whatever I have, lay it out there," he said.

Defending Garnett is a pain

As he did during the season, Kevin Garnett tortured the Pistons in Game One: 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocked shots, 1 steal. The Pistons weren't surprised.

"KG is shooting the ball so well. When we trap, he's going to get opportunities in the 17- to 18-foot area. We got to get over there and rotate as fast as possible," Billups said.

"Most of his success is out on the perimeter, taking pops, taking 15- to 18-foot shots," Saunders said. "In the low-block coverage he hit a couple of shots on us, but it's not where he's killed us, down there. His thing has been on the perimeter."

Defending Paul Pierce, Boston's pick and roll and Garnett is a challenge.

"And Garnett sets a lot of screens," Saunders said. "I think last night, we counted, he set 53 screens on the ball. That's a lot of screens to defend, so we've got to make that adjustment and know you're going to have to be whacking all the time."

Nothing less expected

Forty-eight hours after their emotional Game Seven triumph over Cleveland, the Celtics played hard in Game One against Detroit. Saunders was not surprised.

"Knowing the personality of their players, I knew they'd have good energy level," he said.