It didn’t matter.
Detroit set an NBA playoff record with just three turnovers and made just enough shots and stops to advance to their sixth straight Eastern Conference finals with a 91-86 win Tuesday over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of their second-round series.
Richard Hamilton scored 31 points, made victory-sealing free throws late in the game and Tayshaun Prince had a crucial block.
The Pistons are the first team to play in six conference finals in a row since the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers went to eight straight.
“Now we expect to do this,” Hamilton said. “We’re supposed to be here.”
The Pistons will have a break before facing the Boston Celtics or the Cleveland Cavaliers and that will help Chauncey Billups, who missed his second straight game with a strained right hamstring.
“It’s good to get this over with,” Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. “Now we get a chance to rest.”
Detroit overcame an awful shooting night by making free throws, taking care of the ball and pestering the Magic.
The Pistons were 28-of-32 at the line and didn’t turn the ball over once after the first quarter even though Rodney Stuckey was filling in for Billups. Orlando made 16 of 28 free throws and had a playoff-high 21 turnovers, which turned into 34 points for Detroit.
“The fact that the game is close at the end when you look at the free throw shooting and turnover disparity is remarkable,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said.
To the Magic’s credit, it didn’t go away easily against a playoff-tested team that improved to 15-3 when it has a chance to advance since 2003. Detroit led by 10 with 3:49 left but clung to an 85-84 lead with just under a minute left after Hedo Turkoglu made back-to-back shots.
The Pistons won thanks to Hamilton’s six free throws and Prince’s block of Turkoglu’s dunk attempt in the last 20 seconds.
Each team won a rout in the series, and Detroit took all three games decided in the final minute.
Detroit minimized its miscues even with a player a year removed from starring at Eastern Washington. Stuckey didn’t have a turnover in 33 minutes and had 15 points, six assists and two steals.
“Just because I went to a small school doesn’t mean nothing,” Stuckey said. “I believe in myself when I step out there. This is why Joe (Dumars) drafted me.”
Detroit selected the sturdy point guard with the 15th pick - acquired from Orlando for Darko Milicic - and he was good enough during an injury-stunted regular season to be named to the All-Rookie second team.
Soon after being told his grandmother died, Detroit’s Antonio McDyess had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Rasheed Wallace scored 14 and Prince added 10 points for the Pistons.
Turkoglu had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Magic. Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson each had 14 points. Howard had 17 rebounds and three blocked shots, but his night was marred by 6-of-15 shooting on free throws.
Orlando led 33-27 midway through the second quarter, then Detroit went on a 16-3 run and took a 47-41 lead into halftime.
The Magic carried a 68-65 lead into the final period but struggled, but after Lewis made two free throws in the opening seconds Orlando went scoreless for nearly 7 minutes as the Pistons went ahead on Stuckey’s steal and layup during a McDyess-led 13-0 run that put them ahead 78-70.
With his 11th point, Hamilton broke Isiah Thomas’ career playoff scoring record of 2,261 points and he did it in 110 games - one fewer than Thomas needed.
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