Billups hurt as Pistons lose Game 3 to Magic
Orlando dominates contest, cuts series deficit to 2-1
 Chris O'meara / AP Detroit's Chauncey Billups grimaces as he lays on the court during the first quarter of Game 3 against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Billups left the game with a strained hamstring. |
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ORLANDO, Fla. - Rashard Lewis was due for a breakout game. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Orlando Magic.
Lewis, Orlando’s big offseason acquisition, scored a career playoff-high 33 points and the Magic beat the Detroit Pistons 111-86 on Wednesday night to gain a little momentum in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Detroit still leads the series 2-1, though they suffered a tough injury. All-Star guard Chauncey Billups strained his right hamstring early in the first quarter and didn’t return. The Pistons were hopeful he could play in Game 4 Saturday in Orlando, but planned to re-evaluate him again Thursday.
Lewis was shooting 36 percent from the field in the first two games of the series, including 2-of-12 from 3-point range. He shot 11-of-15 on Wednesday, 5-of-6 from behind the arc, and scored 12 of Orlando’s last 14 points as the Magic took a 54-42 halftime lead.
“I made my first couple and really felt like I was going to have it going tonight,” said Lewis, who came to the Magic in a trade with Seattle. “I know my 3 ball hasn’t been falling this whole series.
“Detroit’s obviously been a team that’s been beating us the past couple of years,” Lewis said. “The main focus is we don’t want to dig ourselves too deep of a hole. We want to try to win our home games, take the series back to Detroit 2-2.”
Richard Hamilton scored 24 points for Detroit and Tayshaun Prince had 22, while Rasheed Wallace scored 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting. With Billups out, rookie Rodney Stuckey stepped up big for the Pistons. He scored 19 points — nine in the second quarter — but he didn’t bring the same floor presence as Billups, Detroit’s steady leader and clutch 3-point threat. Billups was averaging 17.5 points in the postseason and had 28 against the Magic in Game 2.
“I’m concerned because (Billups is) our quarterback; he runs our team,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. “You saw our first two games. He’s been a huge part of why we’ve been successful — that matchup has been huge for us.”
The Pistons lost Billups just four minutes into the game when he drove to the basket and got tangled up with Jameer Nelson. Nelson’s leg caught Billups’ foot, and the Pistons guard fell hard to the court.
Dwight Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando, and Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu both scored 18.
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The Magic had lost nine straight playoff games to the Pistons, tied for the fourth-longest streak in NBA history. That dated to 2003, when Detroit rallied from a 3-1 deficit to advance, and included a 4-0 sweep in the first round last season.
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