The Pistons will have a big advantage in terms of rest for the Eastern Conference final.

By eliminating the No. 3 seed Orlando in five games, they ensured themselves at least four days off before the conference final begins. The Pistons have advanced to the Eastern Conference final six straight seasons, tying them with the Showtime Lakers (1984-89) for most consecutive conference final appearances.

"It's one of those things we feel we're supposed to do," shooting guard Richard Hamilton said. "When the first round goes by, we feel we're supposed to win. When the second round goes by, we feel we're supposed to win. That's our confidence. We feel we've got to make it there and that we've got to get back to the Finals."

It's especially good news for point guard Chauncey Billups, who missed the last two games of the Magic series with a strained right hamstring. Billups was close to returning Tuesday -- the decision to sit out came a couple of hours before the game -- but he still couldn't run at top speed. It would be a major surprise if he wasn't ready for Game 1 of the conference final.

"It's good that we can get Chauncey more recovery time," coach Flip Saunders said. "I thought Orlando played its best game tonight. They were much better than they were a year ago. They're going to be here a long time because of Dwight (Howard) and the pieces they have. They helped prepare us for whoever we face in the next round, no matter who it is."

Boston defeated the Pistons 2-1 in their season series, but the Pistons played the Celtics at The Palace only once. Power forward Kevin Garnett was the player most responsible for the Celtics' series victory, averaging 24 points in those games.

The Pistons took three out of four from Cleveland, though the last win was negligible because both teams were resting their regulars on the last day of the regular season. None of the Pistons stood out offensively against Cleveland, with Richard Hamilton's 12 ppg good enough to lead the team. But they held the Cavaliers to 38.5 percent shooting in the four games.

PISTONS 91, MAGIC 86: Shooting guard Richard Hamilton scored 31 points, but it was Tayshaun Prince's block of Hedo Turkoglu's attempted dunk that stood out as the Pistons won the best-of-seven, second-round playoff series 4-1 Tuesday night.

Prince's famed game-saving block against Indiana's Reggie Miller in the conference finals sparked the Pistons to a championship in 2004. Prince had one of those moments again in the final seconds of the Pistons' closeout victory.

"That was awesome," Hamilton said. "I didn't even see who blocked the shot, to tell you the truth. The only thing I saw was Tay flexing."

Such outbursts of emotions are rare for Prince, but he was thrilled to contribute to a highly emotional victory. He scored only 10 points, his low for this playoff run. His club was desperately holding onto an 87-84 lead with 15.9 seconds left when Prince put his signature on the series.

"I couldn't make a shot all game at the opportune time," he said. "At the start of the fourth quarter, I kind of felt that it was time for me to step up."

Everyone on the team did that with point guard Chauncey Billups sidelined for the second consecutive game by a strained right hamstring.

Hamilton, who struggled with his jump shot early, starting driving and drawing fouls to get going offensively. He made all 16 of his free throws.

Though the Magic hung around until Prince's block, they were done in by their own incompetence. Orlando made 21 turnovers, and All-Star center Dwight Howard missed nine of his 15 free throw attempts.

Howard once again shrunk in crunch time, scoring only four second-half points. He didn't have a basket in the final three quarters of Game 4.

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