Pistons welcome Magic to The Palace for Game 2

This is a best-of-seven series. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday at Amway Arena.

On Saturday, Chauncey Billups scored 22 points and dished out 11 assists and Richard Hamilton netted 22 as Detroit cruised past Orlando, 100-92, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Rasheed Wallace poured in 16 points and six rebounds, while Tayshaun Prince and Chris Webber both contributed 12 points in the victory for the Pistons.

Hedo Turkoglu had 17 points for the Magic, while Grant Hill and Darko Milicic posted 14 points apiece. Dwight Howard recorded a double-double with 13 points and 19 boards in defeat.

Orlando has dropped two if its last three Game 2s in the postseason, while the Pistons have won three straight Game 2s.

The Pistons are the top seed in the Eastern Conference for a second straight year. They won their fifth Central Division title in the past six seasons.

Detroit, which has reached the postseason for a sixth straight year, bowed out in six games against the eventual NBA champion Miami Heat in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons are the No. 1 seed for the third time in four years and own home-court advantage throughout the East playoffs.

The Pistons have not lost in the opening round of the postseason since 2000, when they were swept by Miami, 3-0.

The Magic are in the playoffs for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Head coach Brian Hill has Orlando back in the playoffs where it was eliminated in seven games by the Pistons in 2003. Hill already took this franchise to the NBA Finals once (1995).

The last time the Magic won a playoff series was in 1996, when they defeated the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals in five games.