The Pistons know Game 1 of their Eastern Conference second-round playoff series against Orlando was an aberration.
They don't expect to hold All-Star center Dwight Howard to 12 points and eight rebounds every time. They don't expect a team that made least five 3-pointers in every other game this season to go 2-for-15 beyond the arc. And they certainly don't anticipate the Magic to try that tough-guy act again in Game 2, scheduled for Monday night at The Palace. There were plenty of angry exchanges, hard shoves and chippy tactics in the opener. With the game out of hand, Magic forward Rashard Lewis grabbed and spun around backup center Theo Ratliff to prevent a fourth-quarter dunk. That led to some angry stares and a technical for Lewis. Orlando small forward Hedo Turkoglu got a technical in the first half for an oral altercation with Antonio McDyess.
Even two end-of-the-bench types, Orlando forward Pat Garrity and Detroit's Walter Herrmann, gave each other a piece of their minds. "You can't rough up the game against us," shooting guard Richard Hamilton said. "We've been doing this for years now. That's the way we want to play. They tried, but we enjoy it."
The key was limiting Howard's production.
"You're not going to stop him," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders, even though his team did. "Tonight's game is not going to happen very often. The big thing is we tried to send a lot of bodies at him. We wanted to keep a fresh body on him at all times."
A 1-2-2 zone also threw the Magic off balance. That defensive look sparked a decisive 19-3 third-quarter run. "We were very aggressive in it," Saunders said. "We contested a lot of shots and didn't give up as much penetration."
PISTONS 91, MAGIC 72: Point guard Chauncey Billups had 19 points and seven assists Saturday night as the Pistons gained a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven, second-round playoff series.
The Pistons picked up right where they left off, not only from the last two games of the Philadelphia series but the first round of last season's playoffs, when they swept the Magic. They held Orlando to 30 second-half points while winning their fourth straight game after trailing the Sixers 2-1 in the first round. After averaging 104 points against Toronto in their first-round series, the Magic received a stern lesson on playoff-style defense.
"Constant physicality," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They did a very good job of it tonight."
The Pistons offense wasn't nearly as efficient as Games 5 and 6 of the Philadelphia series, when they shot 58 percent. They shot 43 percent Saturday, but most of the regulars were still able to take the fourth quarter off. Shooting guard Richard Hamilton contributed 17 points, and forwards Tayshaun Prince and Jason Maxiell added 12 apiece. All but two of Maxiell's points came in the fourth quarter. He added nine rebounds and three blocks.
