NBA Playoffs: Pistons complete sweep of Magic
The Orlando Magic had the lead, the momentum and the crowd support. The Detroit Pistons used their postseason experience to overcome all of it.
Chauncey Billups scored 25 points, Richard Hamilton added 19 and the Pistons avoided a fourth-quarter meltdown to beat the Magic 97-93 Saturday at Orlando, Fla., and sweep the first-round series.
“The one thing we had such a big advantage on them is experience, and the only way you can get better at that is to go through it,” Billups said. “I’m sure there are a lot of things they would change coming down the stretch.”
The sweep was Detroit’s first in the playoffs since 1990, when the “Bad Boys” won a second consecutive NBA title.
The Pistons handily won the first three games of the best-of-7 series, but the finale was much more difficult – mostly because Detroit went cold to start the final period. The Pistons were ahead 78-69 early in the fourth, but missed 11 of 13 shots to start the period. However, the veteran team, which has advanced to four consecutive Eastern Conference finals, took control down the stretch.
Rasheed Wallace hit a 3-pointer that made it 85-83. Chris Webber followed with a hook shot in the lane. Then Billups and Hamilton took over, combining to score Detroit’s final 12 points.
Cavaliers 98, Wizards 92: At Washington, the undermanned Wizards rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit, but again couldn’t finish the job in the final period.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, mastering the art of doing just enough to win, held on for the victory to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
LeBron James had his best game of the series with 30 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Cavaliers, who are one game away from sweeping a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 24 points and eight rebounds, but the most glaring statistic was the Wizards’ 6-for-20 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Spurs 96, Nuggets 91: At Denver, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker sliced their way through Denver’s defense in San Antonio’s victory over the Nuggets.
The Spurs took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 4 is Monday night at the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets went just 23-18 during the season, the seventh-worst home record in franchise history.
Parker led San Antonio with 21 points and Ginobili added 19.
Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 28 points and Allen Iverson added 20.
Jazz 98, Rockets 85: At Salt Lake City, Mehmet Okur broke out of his scoring slump with 16 points, stifled Yao Ming defensively, and Utah evened its first-round series with a victory over Houston.
Deron Williams added 25 points for Utah.
Utah outscored Houston 33-17 in the third period and again flustered the Rockets into a listless second half while tying the series at two games apiece.