BOSTON - Jason Richardson bounced back from his worst game of the season to score 34 points with 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns rebounded from their only defeat to beat the Boston Celtics 110-103 last night. Kevin Garnett had a season-high 26 points - the most he’s scored since missing the end of the 2008-09 season and the playoffs with strained ligaments in his right knee.

Boston University gave John Kuester his first head-coaching job, and he went went 16-13 in his first year. It took John Kuester just three years to go from graduate assistant at the University of Richmond, to Rick Pitino’s staff at Boston University, to leadership of the BU program. At 28, Kuester was Division I’s youngest head coach in 1983.

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Detroit Pistons coach John Kuester said he encountered “very special” people while attending Benedictine. Somewhere, John Kuester believes, Warren Rutledge is smiling. Kuester, named the Detroit Pistons’ coach yesterday, played for Rutledge at Benedictine High School during the early 1970s. Kuester said his journey to an NBA head-coaching job was greatly aided by several lessons he learned from Rutledge, who coached the Cadets for 43 seasons and died in 2000.

The Detroit Pistons officially named Richmond native John Kuester their coach today. The former Benedictine High School and North Carolina star will be Detroit’s sixth head coach in 10 years.

John Kuester, who could be introduced as the Detroit Pistons’ new head coach as early as today, earned acclaim first as a guard at Benedictine, then at North Carolina, where he helped lead the Tar Heels to two ACC titles.

DETROIT—Joe Dumars has turned to Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester, a Richmond native and former Benedictine High School standout, as the Pistons’ next head coach. The Detroit Free Press learned late yesterday afternoon that the Pistons were nearing a deal with Kuester, a 54-year-old coaching veteran who has never led an NBA team but was the head man at two mid-major colleges in the 1980s. He won a championship ring as a Pistons assistant in 2004 and has built a reputation in the NBA as a bright offensive mind and game-planner.

DETROIT—A person with the knowledge of the negotiations says the Detroit Pistons have agreed in principle to contracts with free agents Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. Gordon, the third pick in the 2004 draft by the Chicago Bulls, agreed to a 5-year deal for at least $50 million. Villanueva, the seventh overall pick by Toronto in 2006 who has played all three of his NBA season with the Milwaukee Bucks, also agreed to a five-year deal. His contract is worth at least $35 million.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers made the Detroit Pistons’ inspired effort moot. James had 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, leading the Cavs to a 79-68 victory last night and a 3-0 lead in the first-round series. Cleveland, snarled in a 53-all tie after three periods, dominated the fourth. The Pistons, whose collective heart was questioned by one of their players, played hard for three-plus quarters before being rendered helpless by James.

WASHINGTON—Gilbert Arenas nearly had a heroic finish to his first game in almost a year. Instead, it was Kwame Brown—of all people—who blocked Agent Zero’s shot in the final seconds. With 4.5 seconds remaining tonight and the Washington Wizards trailing by two, Arenas chased Brown—who had a disappointing stint as a Wizard—got a hand on the shot. Washington’s Caron Butler then grabbed the ball and missed a baseline jumper at the buzzer, and the Detroit Pistons escaped with a 98-96 victory that sent their tenuous playoff hopes—at least temporarily—headed back in the right direction.