LeBron James leads the Cavaliers to a commanding 3-0 series over the hapless Detroit Pistons, while Thaddeus Young scored with 2 seconds left to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a win over the Orlando Magic. In the Western Conference, Luis Scola and the Rockets locked down Brandon Roy and the Blazers in winning their game to lead the series 2-1.

Eastern Conference:

Cleveland Cavaliers 79 - Detroit Pistons 68

Cleveland leads series 3-0

• The Pistons showed heart for three quarters before succumbing to LeBron James and the Cavs in the fourth, while the Cavs’ Joe Smith scored a career playoff-high 19 points. James nearly finished with a triple double with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.
• When this series started, I thought that the Pistons might be able to eke out a win or two at the Palace, put up a good fight, and show some pride. But with another ghastly performance, a sweep is looking more and more likely. So how about it, Pistons? Prove the doubters wrong one more time, and go away into the sunset with a fight, or let the Cavs roll all over you?

Orlando Magic 94 - Philadelphia 76ers 96

Philadelphia leads series 2-1

• It was Orlando’s turn to rally from a deep deficit, but could not pull off a win despite two clutch free throws by Dwight Howard late. Sixers forward Thaddeus Young, the third option on the inbounds play, drove, nearly lost possession, but recovered and made a tough shot with Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard draped over him to lead the Sixers to the win.
• Aside from a monster game from Dwight Howard (36 points, 11 rebounds, and 12-14 FTs) and a decent game from Rafer Alston (17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), the Magic were at a loss for answers to the Sixers’ two Andres. Andre Miller had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, and Andre Iguodala had 29 points and 7 rebounds.
• The Magic’s Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis still looked out of sync, shooting only 2-for-12 and 5-for-13 respectively. Rookie Courtney Lee, who had consistent solid performances, only had 6 points.
• The other Sixers have still been pretty mediocre too. Samuel Dalembert was a bit more productive than his last outing, with 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, but the Sixers bench was still pretty bad. They left with a win, however, so I don’t think anyone’s complaining.
• What are the Magic gonna do now? They will try to avoid a 3-1 hole when they play game 4, and Hedo and ‘Shard better figure something out. The Sixers’ two Andres have put the team on their shoulders, and this might be an upset in the making if Orlando can’t get its act together.

Western Conference:

Portland Trailblazers 83 - Houston Rockets 86

Houston leads series 2-1

• Don’t let the final score fool you too much. Houston was in control for much of the first three quarters, before a mini-run by Portland resulted in three straight dunks, two by Greg Oden, and another by LaMarcus Aldridge, to inspire the Blazers to rally. However, the Rockets were able to hold off the late burst to still win.
• The Blazers were able to limit Yao for the second straight game by getting extra physical, with the Rockets center finishing with only 7 points, but they had a lot of trouble on offense. I mentioned that Ron Artest and Shane Battier weren’t about to let Blazers guard Brandon Roy explode again, and they locked him down in this one, allowing him only 19 points on 6-for-18 shooting. Meanwhile, Battier and Luis Scola picked up the offensive slack for the Rockets, with Battier scoring 16 points, and Scola finishing with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Carl Landry, Kyle Lowry, and Von Wafer also had solid performances off the bench.
• About the only bright spot for the Blazers was the performances of Rudy Fernandez and Steve Blake, who combined for 9 treys. Blake finished with 16 points and 10 assists, and Fernandez had 17 points on 6-9 shooting. LaMarcus Aldridge only had 13 points on 6-15 shooting, which, along with Roy’s poor performance, weren’t able to lead their team to victory.
• Are the young Blazers showing signs of cracking? Houston still had subpar performances from Yao Ming and Ron Artest, the team’s leaders, yet they are leading this series. Portland’s home court advantage has been negated, and Houston looks to be improving by the game.