Time to start a new topic! 2003 Playoffs, first round, Magic (8) vs Pistons (1). Highlights from all 7 games are coming! Stay tuned because it was a really ‘Magical’ battle. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Chauncey Billups broke out of his 3-point shooting slump in a big way, sending the Magic-Pistons series back to Detroit for a decisive Game 7. Chauncey Billups was 11-for-23 from the field during Friday’s victory. Making more 3-pointers in the first quarter than he had all series, Billups scored a career-high 40 points and the Pistons blanketed the Magic defensively for a second straight game in a 103-88 victory Friday night. The victory evened the first-round series at 3-3 and set up a win-or-walk situation Sunday in Detroit. “The team that wins moves on, and the team that loses is going to feel like they’ve lost a golden opportunity,” Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. “Being up 3-1, losing two games is very difficult for our team.” Billups shot 7-of-14 on 3-pointers, including all five tries in the first period when Detroit seized a lead it would never relinquish. He entered the game shooting 14 percent (4-for-28) from behind the arc, but credited a healed left thigh bruise for his turnaround. “Shooters shoot,” said Billups, who beat his previous scoring high by four. “I’m just continuing to stay aggressive.” Richard Hamilton added 22 points, and Ben Wallace had his fourth double-double of the series, tying his career-high with 20 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and blocking five …

MIAMI(AP) It’s that time of year, where little aches and pains are starting to add up for Dwyane Wade. Sore knee, stiff ankle, that sort of thing. He tried to say it was a problem Wednesday. “I was only able to get 32,” Wade said, unable to hold in a laugh – knowing those 32 points were good enough for the Miami Heat. Wade continued his post-All-Star offensive tear, hitting the game-sealing 3-pointer with 34 seconds left, and the Heat held on to beat the injury-depleted Boston Celtics 107-99. Boston trailed 91-76 with 9:04 left, cut the deficit to one with a 16-2 run over the next 4:10, but Wade was simply too much in the final minutes. He scored five straight Miami points to slow the Celtics’ rally, and the Heat never lost the lead. “It’s a gutsy win for us,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. And a costly loss for the defending NBA champions, who fell two games behind Cleveland in the race for the Eastern Conference’s best record. Ray Allen hit his first six shots and finished with 27 for Boston, but only three of those came after halftime – as he missed six of his final seven shots. Leon Powe had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who got 16 points from Paul Pierce. “When you get down that far and you are fighting back, it’s tough to win games, especially on the road,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. Boston led 55-50 at the half, then got outscored 32-18 in the third quarter. “There is no excuse,” Pierce said. “We had our opportunities. We had the lead at …
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