To live and die by the three. Tonight the Orlando Magic lived on. Down 0-2 the Magic knocked in eleven three-pointers en route to a 25 point beat down of the Pistons.
Rashard Lewis was the catalyst for the Magic attack tonight pouring in 33 points with five three-pointers. Lewis was aggressive all night and hit big shots to keep the Magic ahead in the second half when it looked like Detroit was making a run.
Dwight Howard had another typical game tonight. 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 blocks for the big man. Howard controlled the painted area all night and was a force on both end of the floor.
Other then the Magic's nine more three pointers made in this game the other stats were very close.
Detroit made more free throws (22) then Orlando (16). They had less turnovers (10) than Orlando (11). More offensive rebounds (9) than Orlando (7). They also committed less fouls (20) than Orlando (23).
However, the 27 point difference from beyond the arch is what did the Pistons in tonight.
When Chauncey Billups went down in the first quarter it really took the energy out of the Pistons team. Rodney Stucky did come in and score 19 points but he didn't run the team the way Billups can. He only dished out 2 assists in his 34 minutes tonight. He did provide offense but he needs to set up the other Piston players for shots because they can't go 1-on-1 like the Lebron's and Kobe's of the NBA.
After the game when Flip Saunders was asked about the situation he said they were going to plan as if Billups is going to play on Saturday. Billups is a very tough player and will only be held off the court if it really is serious. If I were the Saunders I wouldn't let Billups play unless he was 100% because the worst that can happen is to go home tied. They're going to want Billups to be healthy if they plan to play in the Eastern Conference Finals.
This was a must game for the Magic and if Billups is out for Game 4 they can't let that one get away from them. I'm not sure I like the strategy to keep jacking up three's because that only gets you so far. Orlando has got to get to the free throw line better and keep running their offense through Dwight Howard so those three's keep opening up for them.
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