(3) Orlando Magic (0-0) at (2) Detroit Pistons (0-0), 7:30 p.m.

By Sports Network

The Sports Network

The second-seeded Detroit Pistons and the third-seeded Orlando Magic battle for the right to play in the Eastern Conference finals, as the teams square off in Game 1 of the semis tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

This is the fourth time these teams have met in the postseason. Orlando swept the Pistons, 3-0, in the first round of the 1996 playoffs. Detroit ousted the Magic in seven games in the 2003 quarterfinals and swept Orlando, 4-0, in round one last year.

The Pistons own the home-court advantage in this semifinals set. Game 2 is scheduled for Monday at The Palace.

Detroit has advanced to the East semifinals for the sixth straight year. The Pistons have won this round four straight times. Their only loss during the stretch was in 2002 to the Boston Celtics, 4-1.

The Pistons have made the Eastern Conference finals five straight years. They lost in six games, 4-2, last year to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East finals. Detroit is attempting to become the first team since the 1984-89 Los Angeles Lakers to reach six straight conference finals.

The opening round of the playoffs didn't start the way the Pistons would have liked. After three games against No. 7 Philadelphia, the Sixers led the series 2-1. Detroit got back to playing its hard-nosed defense, and dominated the second half of Game 4 and the final two games of the set to walk away with a 4-2 series victory. Detroit won Games 4, 5 and 6 by an average of 16.3 points.

Richard Hamilton led the Pistons in scoring (19.7 ppg) against Philadelphia, while fellow All-Star guard Chauncey Billups averaged 15.5 points and a team- best 6.7 assists per game. Tayshaun Prince did a stellar job defensively on Andre Iguodala and ended the series with 16.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest. Prince shot an incredible 65.7 percent (44-for-67) from the floor.

Rasheed Wallace posted 14.5 points and 6.5 boards for the Pistons, and Jason Maxiell was solid with 5.8 points and 6.5 rebounds against Philly.

Head coach Flip Saunders finished his third year on Detroit's bench, and has guided the Pistons to the East finals the last two years. Before he was hired by Detroit, Saunders spent nine-plus years with the Minnesota Timberwolves and helped the squad to eight straight playoff appearances. He also coached the Timberwolves to a franchise-best 58-24 mark during the 2003-04 campaign and guided the club to the Western Conference finals against the Lakers, who defeated Minnesota in six games. Saunders, who became the general of the Pistons on July 21, 2005, is 41-46 in the postseason.

The Pistons won 59 games and captured their fourth straight Central Division title during the 2007-08 campaign. Detroit won at least 50 games for the seventh straight season.

Orlando knocked off the sixth-seeded Toronto Raptors in five games, 4-1, in the opening round of the postseason. The Magic, who had dropped six straight playoff series heading into this year's postseason, won a first-round series for the first time since 1996 when they swept Detroit. They advanced to the Eastern Conference finals that year and were swept by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, 4-0.

All-Star Dwight Howard was a monster in the first round for the Magic, who defeated the Raptors by an average of 9.3 points in their four victories. Howard led Orlando in scoring (22.6 ppg) and rebounds (18.2 rpg) against Toronto. He shot an impressive 63.8 percent from the floor and blocked 3.8 shots per game.

Howard had a lot of help from his supporting cast. Forward Rashard Lewis averaged 19.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists in the quarterfinals for Orlando, while Most Improved Player of the Year Hedo Turkoglu posted 17.8 points, 7.8 boards and a team-best 5.4 assists versus the Raptors. Point guard Jameer Nelson also had a strong series with 17.2 points and 4.8 helpers per contest.

Head coach Stan Van Gundy has done a great job in his first year with the Magic. Van Gundy is in the postseason for the third time as a general. He guided Miami to the 2004 East semis and the 2005 conference finals. The 48- year-old Van Gundy is 21-11 in the playoffs.

Orlando finished 52-30 and captured the Southeast Division title during the regular season. The Magic, who finished with more than 50 victories for the first time since the 1995-96 team earned 60 victories, were nine games ahead of the second place Washington Wizards.

The Magic and Pistons split four contests during the regular season. Both teams picked up a victory at home and on the road.