On the other bench, the Pistons knew they would need energy to combat a Magic team already in survival mode. It probably didn’t sit well they had to hear for the better part of two days about how they have lacked a killer instinct, losing six straight Game 3 in series they have led 2-0.

But as they have on the road all season, the Pistons thrived on the tension (and subsequent technical fouls) pulling away for their most decisive win of the series, 93-77, Thursday night at Amway Arena.

“We’re a grind it out team, I think when we have the opportunity to get a little bit dirty and get physical, that’s when we’re at our best,” Pistons head coach Saunders said. “At times we’re a counter-puncher and what you do defensively we react to that offensively, and defensively we try to dictate what you do.”

Ironically, it turned out to be the most even-keeled Piston to put the Magic one game from elimination. Tayshaun Prince did it all, especially when it inflicted the greatest psychological damage on the Magic. He had 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The critical sequence came in the final minute of the second quarter, starting with Prince’s jumper beating the shot clock for a 43-40 lead. Orlando’s Jameer Nelson hit a jumper with his foot on the 3-point line to make 43-42, and it looked like Orlando would go into halftime only down one.

Prince hit another long two with 2.3 seconds left, stole the inbounds pass at midcourt and passed to Billups, who beat the buzzer with another triple in front of the Pistons bench. Billups had 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. The 48-42 lead silenced the frenzied Amway Arena crowd and neither the Magic nor its crowd regained its edge in the second half.

“Those are big things that can really change the tempo of the game, momentum swingers,” Prince said. “The one right before halftime and the one after the third quarter, those are the big plays for us to keep control of the game. All series long the Magic have been doing a good job of fighting back when we have a lead.”

Officials whistled four technical fouls, three on Detroit, in the first 16 minutes, each time followed by a play to put the Pistons further in control.

After the Magic opened the game with an 8-0 lead, Rasheed Wallace’s routine of picking up his play after a technical foul seemed to rub off on the other Pistons, starting with himself. Wallace picked up an early tech midway through the first and trailing 13-10, but the Magic failed to capitalize and had to settle for a 23-all tie after one.

“It wasn’t that Sheed couldn’t play with two fouls, it was the way it was being called because there was so much emotion at that point,” Saunders said of Wallace, who finished with 15 points in 30 minutes. “I didn’t want him to pick up what I might have considered a cheap foul in that situation. We know Sheed is emotional.”

Jack Nees called Dale Davis for a technical on the first possession of the second quarter for a subtle bump after drawing a foul on Keyon Dooling. Dooling missed the technical shot, Davis split his pair and the Pistons took their first lead of the game, 24-23.

Antonio McDyess got called for a technical three minutes into the second quarter, and Wallace responded like the foul was on him, hitting a 3-pointer to expand the lead to seven, 33-26.

In the third quarter, Rip Hamilton and Dwight Howard got tangled up and to be separated by teammates, leading to a fourth Pistons technical on Hamilton. Soon after the Hamilton tech, Chris Webber dropped four of his 15 points to get the Pistons to double digits, 66-56, with 3:41 left in the third.

Howard let his frustrations out on the rim with several explosive dunks, but he failed to score consistently in any other fashion, finishing with 11 points. He also was called for the one Magic technical of the first half. “There’s no question our ability to throw a lot of bigs at Dwight has helped us,” Saunders said.

Triples by Prince to end the third and start the fourth, followed by another from Wallace, made a 79-65 with nine minutes left. The Pistons closed out the game looking like the poised, veteran team people have expected since the playoffs began. If they can do it one more time in Orlando on Saturday, this current group of Pistons will have its first playoff sweep and have taken all eight meetings with the Magic in 2006-07.

“Our guys have been extremely focused,” Saunders said. “We won two up in Detroit and lot of people were saying we didn’t have a killer instinct. Our guys came down here and have been focused just with the idea of going out and playing how we want to play.”

For the Magic, Nelson looked far more assertive than he had in the first two games and had a game-high 27 points but he didn’t have much help. Hedo Turkoglu and Grant Hill, playoff veterans who were the Magic’s best players at The Palace, must have left their shooting touch in Detroit. Turkoglu was 4-for-10 and Hill was 2-for-11 for eight points.