THE Detroit Pistons have taken a 2-0 lead over the Orlando Magic in the second round of the NBA playoffs.The Pistons won 100-93 in the Eastern Conference game Detroit today, with Chauncey Billups scoring a game-high 28 points. The Magic came back from a 14-point deficit to trail 95-93 with 13 seconds left to play but were unable to prevent Billups finishing them off. Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson each scored 22 points for Orlando. Game 3 of the best-of-seven-series will be played in Orlando on Thursday morning, Melbourne time.
Meanwhile, LA Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is widely expected to receive the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the first time tomorrow. The NBA has scheduled a news conference for a Los Angeles hotel about “an award announcement and a presentation”. Even though the NBA will not confirm who has won the award, which is voted on by the media, the fact that the conference has been called for Los Angeles suggests it is Bryant. If he does win, Bryant will become the fourth Laker to win the award, following Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal.