Lewis leads Magic to victory

Rashard Lewis scored a play-off career-high 33 points as the Orlando Magic took advantage of an injury to Chauncey Billups in a 111-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

Dwight Howard added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who ended a 10-game losing streak against the Pistons in the post-season and now trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-finals series.

Billups left the game early in the first quarter, straining his right hamstring after getting tangled up with Magic guard Jameer Nelson. His status for Saturday's game four is uncertain.

Rookie Rodney Stuckey played well in the All-Star point guard's absence, netting 19 points for the Pistons, who trailed 30-16 after the opening period and never recovered.

Orlando, which was whitewashed by Detroit in the first round last season, made sure that would not be the case this time around after dropping the first two games of the series at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

But the Magic received some help with the loss of Billups, who, while driving the right baseline in the first quarter, bumped into Nelson and fell awkwardly to the floor, overextending his hamstring and leaving him face-down under the basket.

He immediately left the game and was taken to the locker room for treatment a few minutes later.

It set the tone for a dismal first quarter for the Pistons, who trailed by 14 points entering the second period.

The Magic took control right from the start and grabbed a 20-3 lead with just over four minutes left in the first on Howard's monstrous dunk.

Predictably, Detroit made a run after half-time behind Richard Hamilton, who scored 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Hamilton's two free throws pulled the Pistons back to 73-69 with eight-tenths of a second left in the third.

But that was as close as Detroit would get.

Orlando scored the first seven points of the final period, capped by a wide-open three-pointer by Keyon Dooling with 10:42 left. The shot from the arc signaled a shift in the game's momentum and forced a timeout by the Pistons.

When play resumed, Dooling kept the pressure on with a nifty lay-up as Orlando continued its spurt.

The Magic eventually took a 90-73 lead with 8:17 remaining with Hedo Turkoglu's shot from the arc - capping a 17-4 burst and effectively sealing the outcome.

It was a much-needed victory for the Magic, who suffered a crushing loss in game two after a clock malfunction allowed the Pistons to hit a three-pointer at the end of the third.

The basket ended up being crucial in the nip-and-tuck contest, leaving Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy in disbelief and forcing the NBA to take a look at its video monitor review rules.

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant celebrated his first MVP award with 34 points and Lamar Odom added 19 and 16 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers posted a 120-110 victory over the Utah Jazz.

With the win, Los Angeles moved into a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semi-finals series and also remained undefeated in the post-season heading into game three in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

Derek Fisher scored 22 points and Pau Gasol chipped in 20 and five blocks for the Lakers, who shot a blistering 57% (39-of-68) from the field.

Deron Williams recorded 25 points and 10 assists for his first double-double of the play-offs for Utah, which had seven