The Orlando Magic made sure they will not be swept out of the NBA playoffs by Detroit this time, thanks to 33 points from Rashard Lewis
ORLANDO: The Orlando Magic made sure they will not be swept out of the NBA playoffs by Detroit this time, thanks to 33 points from Rashard Lewis and an injury to Pistons guard Chauncey Billups.
Lewis’s 33 were a playoff career-high and helped the Magic to a 111-86 victory over the Pistons in game three of their Eastern Conference second-round series. The victory saw Orlando narrow the gap in the best-of-seven series to 2-1, and ended a nine-game losing streak against Detroit in the playoffs. The last time Orlando had beaten Detroit in the postseason was in 2003, when the Pistons won the last three games of their series to advance. Last season Detroit swept the Magic in four games, and they won the first two games of this series at home.
Dwight Howard added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who benefited from the early departure of Billups, who left the game early in the first quarter with a strained his hamstring. Billups was hurt when he got tangled up with Magic guard Jameer Nelson and his status for Saturday’s game was uncertain.
The Magic had seized a 20-3 lead with just over four minutes left in the first on a mammoth dunk by Howard. Characteristically, the Pistons made a run after halftime behind Hamilton, who scored 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
Two free throws by Hamilton pulled the Pistons within 73-69 with eight-tenths of a second left in the third, but Detroit would get no closer. Orlando scored the first seven points of the final quarter, capped by a wide-open three-pointer by Keyon Dooling.
After a timeout by the Pistons, Dooling kept the pressure on with a layup.
The Magic eventually took a 90-73 lead with 8:17 to play, Hedo Turkoglu’s three-pointer capping a 17-4 spurt and effectively sealing the outcome. It was a much-needed victory for the Magic, who suffered a demoralising defeat in game two after a clock malfunction allowed the Pistons to hit a three-pointer at the end of the third. Tayshaun Prince scored 22 points and Rasheed Wallace added 11 for the Pistons.
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