Magic is swept up in Pistons’ experience

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 had 19 and the Pistons avoided a fourth-quarter meltdown to beat the Magic, 97-93, at Orlando, Fla., on Saturday and sweep the first-round Eastern Conference 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-seven series, but the finale was much more difficult -- mostly because Detroit went cold to start the final quarter.

The Pistons were ahead, 78-69, early in the fourth, but after missing 11 of 13 shots to start the quarter they found themselves trailing, 85-80, with about three minutes left.

But Rasheed Wallace made a three-point basket 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 last 12 points.

Hamilton made a jump shot in the lane to put the Pistons ahead 87-86, then Billups made a driving layup high off the glass. Hamilton followed with another jumper -- both came over undersized point guard Jameer Nelson -- that made it 91-88.

“It was good for us to step up and make the plays we did,” Tayshaun Prince said. “Obviously, our leadership and our veterans kicked it into gear.”

Dwight Howard had 29 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Magic.

San Antonio 96, Denver 91 -- Tim Duncan had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker sliced their way through the Nuggets’ defense at Denver as the Spurs took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series.

Parker led San Antonio with 21 points and Ginobili had 19, but it was two old pros who put the game out of reach. A flurry of three-pointers from Robert Horry (10 points) and Michael Finley (16) allowed the Spurs to break away from the Nuggets late in the third quarter.

The Nuggets, who got 28 points from Carmelo Anthony and 20 from Allen Iverson, never recovered.

Cleveland 98, Washington 92 -- LeBron James had his best game of the Eastern Conference series so far with 30 points, nine assists and six rebounds at Washington for the Cavaliers, who are one game away from sweeping a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 24 points and eight rebounds, but the most glaring statistic was the Wizards’ six-for-20 shooting in the fourth quarter.

Antawn Jamison scored a career playoff-high 38 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Wizards.

Utah 98, Houston 85 -- At Salt Lake City, Mehmet Okur broke out of his scoring slump with 16 points and stifled Yao Ming defensively, and the Jazz evened its first-round Western Conference series at 2-2.

Deron Williams scored 25 points, including 11 in the third quarter. Utah outscored Houston, 33-17, in the period and again flustered the Rockets into a listless second half.

Yao scored 20, his lowest total of the series, and had to fight through Okur and Jarron Collins all night. Tracy McGrady scored 18 points before Houston Coach Jeff Van Gundy pulled his starters.

Carlos Boozer finished with 15 points for Utah.