PHILADELPHIA – The 76ers added one more surprise victory in a season stuffed with them. The win wasn’t the shocker – it was the way Philadelphia completely thrashed the playoff-tested Detroit Pistons in Game 3 that was the stunner.

Andre Miller was spot on with his mid-range jumper and scored 21 points, and the rest of the Sixers ran all over the court in a dominating 95-75 victory Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

Samuel Dalembert had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and the Sixers led by as many as 24 points in their first home playoff game since 2005.

The Sixers proved their Game 1 victory was no fluke, doing everything Detroit normally did on the way to five straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals: Hit clutch shots, never lost composure and kept the pressure on all game to never let the Pistons go on a serious runs.

Miller had the best all-around game, but he had plenty of help as four others scored double figures, including Dalembert’s double-double.

The Pistons played nothing like a team that won 59 games in the regular season. Perhaps they took the 76ers lightly or maybe one of the most experienced postseason rosters in the league is finally starting to wear down.

Mavericks 97, Hornets 87

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki had 32 points, 19 rebounds and six assists and Dallas finally made New Orleans look like playoff novices, winning Game 3 to get right back into this series.

Chris Paul of the Hornets, the first player ever to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in his first two playoff games, finished with 16 points on 4-of-18 shooting. He still had 10 assists.

David West was 3-of-16 through three quarters. He wound up 6-of-20 with 14 points and his late surge helped New Orleans cut a 17-point deficit to 90-83 with 2 minutes left.

Jannero Pargo of New Orleans had 30 points, his most this season and most ever in a playoff game.

Jason Terry replaced Jerry Stackhouse in Dallas’ starting lineup and responded with 22 points and six assists but his biggest contribution was his defense on Paul.

Game 4 is Sunday night in Dallas, where the Hornets haven’t won since January 1998.