- News>
- Others
Magic fails to cast spell on Pistons
United States, May 05: The Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 108-93 in a decisive game seven to reach the second round of the NBA play-offs.
United States, May 05: The Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 108-93 in a decisive game seven to reach the second round of the NBA play-offs.
Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince were the stars as Detroit became only the seventh team in NBA history to advance after falling behind 3-1 in a series. The Pistons led 20-8 midway through the first quarter and controlled most of the rest of the game.
After Orlando pulled to 31-30 early in the second quarter, Detroit went on a 14-4 run to take command for good and book a showdown against Philadelphia. Billups scored 37, and Prince scored 20 - breaking the career-high of 15 he set in game five of the series.
Tracy McGrady, who led the NBA in scoring, has been knocked out of the first round of the playoffs four straight times. Out west, the Portland Trail Blazers' hopes of becoming the first-ever team to rebound from a 3-0 series deficit ended at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.
Don Nelson's Mav's outlasted their visitors 107-95 in a hard-fought game to win the right to take on the Sacramento Kings. Despite the defeat Portland veteran Scottie Pippen was happy with the effort from his side.
"It's disappointing any time you lose a game, but I'm happy in spirit that we even gave ourselves an opportunity to be in this position," said the 37-year-old. "We could have packed it in a week and a half ago and taken our fourth lick and been on vacation, but we showed a lot of character and pride in just bouncing back.
"It made the season fun."
In other basketball news, San Antonio's Tim Duncan was voted the league's Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row. Duncan, who led the Spurs to an NBA-best 60-22 record, is the first player to win the award in consecutive seasons since Michael Jordan in 1992.
"Unbelievable," said the seven-footer. "I never imagined I would be this far along in the NBA. Every year I got a little better."
A panel of North American sports journalists voted Duncan ahead of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and McGrady.
Bureau Report
Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince were the stars as Detroit became only the seventh team in NBA history to advance after falling behind 3-1 in a series. The Pistons led 20-8 midway through the first quarter and controlled most of the rest of the game.
After Orlando pulled to 31-30 early in the second quarter, Detroit went on a 14-4 run to take command for good and book a showdown against Philadelphia. Billups scored 37, and Prince scored 20 - breaking the career-high of 15 he set in game five of the series.
Tracy McGrady, who led the NBA in scoring, has been knocked out of the first round of the playoffs four straight times. Out west, the Portland Trail Blazers' hopes of becoming the first-ever team to rebound from a 3-0 series deficit ended at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.
Don Nelson's Mav's outlasted their visitors 107-95 in a hard-fought game to win the right to take on the Sacramento Kings. Despite the defeat Portland veteran Scottie Pippen was happy with the effort from his side.
"It's disappointing any time you lose a game, but I'm happy in spirit that we even gave ourselves an opportunity to be in this position," said the 37-year-old. "We could have packed it in a week and a half ago and taken our fourth lick and been on vacation, but we showed a lot of character and pride in just bouncing back.
"It made the season fun."
In other basketball news, San Antonio's Tim Duncan was voted the league's Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row. Duncan, who led the Spurs to an NBA-best 60-22 record, is the first player to win the award in consecutive seasons since Michael Jordan in 1992.
"Unbelievable," said the seven-footer. "I never imagined I would be this far along in the NBA. Every year I got a little better."
A panel of North American sports journalists voted Duncan ahead of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and McGrady.
Bureau Report