Pistons pound Sixers to progress

Detroit moved into the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals with a 4-2 series victory over Philadelphia.

The Pistons sealed their progress with a 100-77 win in game six, with Richard Hamilton scoring 24 points and Chauncey Billups grabbing 20.

Detroit will now face the Orlando Magic in a second-round series starting on Saturday in Michigan.

The Pistons have advanced to at least the second round of the play-offs for the past seven seasons.

After going 2-1 down early in their series, Conference second seeds Detroit moved up a gear to ease past the 76ers.

"It took us a little while to get our rhythm back, but once we did and we figured them out, we've been successful," Billups said.

Detroit won 59 games in the regular season, 19 more than the Sixers, and rested most of their starters in the last month.

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