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Final Score: Orlando 72 - Detroit 91

Auburn Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Chauncey Billups scored 19 points and dished out seven assists as Detroit took control with a big run in the third quarter for a 91-72 win over the Orlando Magic in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Richard Hamilton added 17 points, while Jason Maxiell scored 12 to go along with nine rebounds in the win. Tayshaun Prince tallied 12 points and eight boards, while Antonio McDyess scored 10 for the Pistons, who are trying to make it to the conference finals for a sixth consecutive year.

The Pistons beat the Magic for the eighth straight time in the postseason and limited the Magic to a 2-of-15 performance from three-point range.

"I thought we did a good job of rotating and moving," Prince said. "It wasn't necessarily that we were trying to take away the three, but at the same time we were trying to really put pressure on them to make plays off the dribble. Obviously they're a very good three-point shooting team so you want to close out as quickly as possible."

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu each had 18 points for the Magic. Dwight Howard had 12 points and eight rebounds, but by the end of the game was on the bench with a left thumb injury. Howard's hand was heavily wrapped in a bandage. He hurt the thumb going for a rebound in the final minute of the third quarter. After the game, Howard said his thumb was bruised, but that he would be okay.

"I thought we did a great job on him (Howard)," Billups said. "Anytime you play a guy like that, he's pretty much averaging 20 and 20 in the playoffs and to hold him to the numbers we held him to, it's a plus all the way around."

Game 2 of the best-of-seven set is scheduled for Monday night at the Palace.

"We've got to put it behind us. It's very frustrating," Howard said. "We didn't play the way that we know how to play basketball. We got a little frustrated the whole night and we let that carry over into the game we had tonight. We have to come back in Game 2."

An alley-oop jam from Howard off a feed from Turkoglu gave the Magic a 46-45 lead with 9:54 left in the third, but the Pistons responded with a 19-3 run. Included in that was a big three-pointer from Rasheed Wallace. Hamilton's layup ended the spurt for a 64-49 difference with 3:55 remaining in the third.

The Magic surged back, getting within 65-58 at the end of the third thanks to Lewis' jumper in the waning seconds.

A Maxiell jumper capped six straight points from the Pistons early in the fourth for a 75-60 lead. The margin was expanded to 82-62 midway through the period after Hamilton hit a pair of foul shots and Orlando didn't threaten the rest of the way.

Howard exited the contest with 3:59 remaining.

The Magic had the game tied at 22 after the first quarter, but a three-point play from Billups moved Detroit to a 33-27 lead midway through the second.

However, the Magic kept the game tight and a fadeaway jumper from Turkoglu with 2.1 seconds left in the half cut the deficit to 43-42 at the break.

Wallace picked up his fourth technical foul of the playoffs after jawing with Turkoglu late in the second quarter.

"They tried to step it up there, but you can't rattle us, "Too many veterans on here, too many hungry young ones. You can't rattle us."