The Celtics are hoping Big Baby Davis, shown here battling Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey for a loose ball in Thursday’s Game Two, can have a big game tonight at the Palace, as he did in January.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The Celtics were the winners in their only trip to the Palace at Auburn Hills this season. They hope that serves as an omen.

Boston beat the Pistons on their home floor way back on Jan. 5. The Pistons played in Toronto the night before and clearly weren’t ready for Boston’s secret weapon, Big Baby Davis. The Celtics rookie romped for 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting to stun the Pistons in a 92-85 Boston win.

What can be gained from that game? Nothing, really. The Celtics say they have confidence they can win again here but now the stakes are infinitely higher. After dropping Game Two in Boston, the Celtics have no choice but to win sometime in this series at the home of one of the rowdier fan bases in the NBA.

“It’s going to be crazy,” said the Pistons’ Richard Hamilton. “We’ve got the best fans in the NBA. Everybody knows about the Palace at Auburn Hills. Our fans are excited and now it’s our job to go and take care of home court.”

Boston center Kendrick Perkins (7 fouls, 3 field goals in last two games) isn’t hung up on his team’s 0-6 road record in these playoffs. The Celtics knew it was a matter of time before they had to beat someone on the road and now they know the Pistons are that team.

“Ain’t nobody said it was going to be easy. It’s the Eastern Conference finals,” Perkins said. “We just have to make sure we stick together and do what we do.”

Detroit coach Flip Saunders isn’t reading anything into the Celtics’ road woes.

“You don’t all of a sudden go from the best road team in the league in the regular season to never winning on the road,” he said. “Playoffs are more matchups than who you’re playing. For them, it’s just a matter of who’ve they’ve been matched up against. Atlanta was a very energetic team. Their crowd was unbelievable. And then when they played Cleveland, they played LeBron [James], and LeBron at home is great because he gets to the free-throw line a lot and makes plays for other people. More than anything else, I think what you have to do is you have to make them play from behind. You can’t let them get into a flow and control the tempo of the game.”

Pierce at the top of his game

It’s tough to top a 41-point explosion like Paul Pierce enjoyed in last Sunday’s Game Seven win over Cleveland but the Celtic captain is still rolling.

He scored 22 points in Game One of the Detroit series and added a team-high 26 in a losing effort in Game Two. Pierce is shooting 53 percent in the two games. Making his production even more impressive is that he’s matched up against Tayshaun Prince, one of the best on-ball defenders in basketball.

“Just make him take tough shots,” Prince said when asked what he’s looking to do with Pierce. “He’s hit some fadeaways but I know that’s his shot, but more importantly we’re trying to keep him out of the paint because that causes a lot of problems. Obviously his jump shot is going right now so we just have to continue to play good, aggressive defense see what happens.”

Second-quarter shakeup in store?

The Celtics have started both games of the series well and held leads after one quarter. But the Pistons have battled back and outscored Boston, 55-42, in the second quarter. Rivers always begins the second quarter with a lineup featuring four reserves and a starter, usually Pierce or Ray Allen. That move hasn’t worked out well yet, especially since the Pistons began the second quarter in Game Two with three starters on the floor.

Rivers said he always talks with his coaches about altering the shuffle of reserves he uses in a game. With the Celtics bench contributing only eight points, five rebounds and two assists in Game Two, maybe some slight switches are in order. Sam Cassell hasn’t seen action in the last four playoff games.

“We’re always thinking about it,” said Rivers. “The key to [altering minutes for his reserves] is the ability of your players to handle that. That’s been a key to our success, the egos aren’t as important as winning is to everybody.”

kmcnamar@projo.com