May

8

Lewis’ 33 Leads Magic To Blowout Of Pistons 111-86

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA PLAYOFFS 

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It was long overdue that Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis broke out from his series-long shooting slump.? And boy did he break out in style; Lewis scored 33 points - including 5 three-pointers - in leading Orlando to a 111-86 annihilation of the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night at Amway Arena.? Although to be fair, the Pistons suffered a blow as guard Chauncey Billups suffered a strained hamstring four minutes into the game.

Billups was injured when he drove to the basket and got tangled up with Orlando’s Jameer Nelson; Nelson’s leg caught Billups’ foot and Billups fell hard to the court.? The Magic would then proceed to grind out an 18-4 run in under six minutes to take a 24-6 lead; Orlando would carry a 54-42 lead into halftime.? Detroit would draw to within 73-69 at the end of the third quarter even though they went almost 4 minutes without a basket; the Pistons would fail to score a field goal in the first 4:27 of the final period until Richard Hamilton made a layup.? The Magic were up 87-73 - with the help of a 3-pointer and a put-back by Lewis - and never looked back.

Orlando was led by Lewis with 33 points, including 5 treys, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while Dwight Howard scored 20 with 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 6 blocks; Hedo Turkoglu and Nelson added 18 - with Turkoglu making 3 three-pointers, grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists while Nelson grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 4 assists.? Detroit was led by Hamilton with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals but committed 6 turnovers while Tayshaun Prince scored 22 with 7 rebounds and 3 assists; Rodney Stuckey, from off the bench, chipped in with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.? Detroit, despite the loss, still owns a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series as they play Orlando again at Amway Arena on Saturday.



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