AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Motor City’s Big Three outscored Philadelphia’s entire team when it mattered.

Chauncey Billups scored 21 points, Richard Hamilton had 20 and Rasheed Wallace added 19 to lift the Pistons to a 98-81 victory over the 76ers on Tuesday night and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

Detroit leads in the series for the first time after being the first team to win consecutive games.

If the Pistons win Game 6 on Thursday night in Philadelphia or Game 7 at home, they will advance in the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.

The third-seeded Orlando Magic, who eliminated Toronto on Monday night, await the winner in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Andre Iguodala scored a career playoff-high 21 points, finally putting together a night that resembled his play in the regular season, but he didn’t have much help.

None of his teammates reached double figures until Andre Miller did in the third quarter, but the point guard missed nine shots in a row in the first half when the game was relatively close.

Hornets 99, Mavericks 94

NEW ORLEANS – Byron Scott accepted his NBA coach of the year award, then guided his team to the second round of the playoffs.

Chris Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets held on for a 99-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night to win their first-round series in five games.

David West scored 25 for New Orleans and Jannero Pargo had 17, while Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Devean George added 11 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas nearly pulled off an improbable comeback.

The Mavs cut a 17-point deficit to three in the final seven minutes before Peja Stojakovic hit a pair of free throws to seal it with 5.7 seconds left.

Tempers flared near the end, and Jerry Stackhouse was ejected for a second technical foul with 1:47 left after slapping the ball out of Paul’s hands during a stoppage in play, then getting in a face-to-face standoff with West.

Rockets 95, Jazz 69

HOUSTON – Tracy McGrady scored 29 points, Luis Scola added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets staved off elimination Tuesday night by routing the Utah Jazz 95-69 in Game 5 of their first-round series.

Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 10 rebounds as the Rockets cut their series deficit to 3-2 and forced Game 6 in Utah on Friday night.

Now, the Jazz can end the series at home, where they went 37-4 during the regular season. But it’s no guarantee – Houston was the first team to beat Utah in Salt Lake City during the regular season and won Game 3 there last Thursday.

The Rockets did everything they hadn’t done for most of the series. They shot well, hit their free throws and got valuable production off the bench.

Houston came into the game with the lowest scoring average of any playoff team (85.5) and was shooting only 39.9 percent from the field and 65.7 percent from the free throw line in the series. In Game 5, the Rockets shot 47 percent (37-of-79), went 15-of-19 from the line and outscored Utah’s bench 26-9.

The Jazz, meanwhile, endured their worst offensive performance of the season, setting a season-low point total by eight.

They shot 36.5 percent (27-of-74), went 2-for-9 from 3-point range and 13-for-23 from the free throw line. They also committed 18 turnovers and were outrebounded 46-38.

Carlos Boozer led Utah with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Deron Williams had 13 points and six assists.

AP-ES-04-30-08 0004EDT