ORLANDO, Fla. – The Detroit-Orlando postseason series ended just like the regular-season series: with a sweep.

Chauncey Billups scored 25 points, Richard Hamilton added 19 and the Pistons overcame a lackluster fourth quarter to beat the Magic 97-93 Saturday and sweep the first-round series. The sweep was Detroit’s first in the playoffs since 1990, when the “Bad Boys” won a second consecutive NBA title.

The Pistons handily won the first three games of the best-of-seven series, but the finale was much more difficult – mostly because Detroit went cold to start the final period.

The Pistons were ahead 78-69 early in the fourth, but missed 11 of 13 shots and found themselves trailing 85-80 with about 3 minutes remaining.

But the veteran team, which has advanced to four consecutive Eastern Conference finals, took control down the stretch.

Rasheed Wallace hit a 3-pointer that made it 85-83. Chris Webber followed with a hook shot in the lane. Then Billups and Hamilton took over, combining to score Detroit’s final 12 points.

Hamilton hit a jumper in the lane to put the Pistons ahead 87-86, then Billups sank a driving layup high off the glass. Hamilton followed with another jumper that made it 91-88. The duo also went 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 21 seconds.

Cavaliers 98, Wizards 92

WASHINGTON -The undermanned Wizards rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit, but again couldn’t finish the job in the final period. The Cleveland Cavaliers, mastering the art of doing just enough to win, held on for a 98-92 victory to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.

LeBron James had his best game of the series with 30 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Cavaliers, who are one game away from sweeping a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 24 points and eight rebounds, but the most glaring statistic was the Wizards’ 6-for-20 shooting in the fourth quarter.

Spurs 96, Nuggets 91

DENVER (AP) – The San Antonio Spurs have their swagger back.

Tim Duncan had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker sliced their way through Denver’s defense in a 96-91 victory over the Nuggets.

The Spurs took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Monday night at the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets went just 23-18 during the season, the seventh-worst home record in franchise history.

Parker led San Antonio with 21 points and Ginobili added 19, but it was two old pros who put the game out of reach. A flurry of 3-pointers from Robert Horry (10 points) and Michael Finley (16) allowed the Spurs to break away from the Nuggets late in the third quarter.

Finley started it off with a 3 that gave San Antonio a 64-62 lead.

After a jumper by Allen Iverson tied it, Ginobili sank two free throws, then Horry stole the ball from J.R. Smith under the basket and sank his own 3-pointer for a 69-64 lead.