The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. - Two days after being collectively outscored by teammate Tracy McGrady, Orlando's supporting cast provided the superstar guard with the help he needed as the Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 89-80 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Backing up McGrady's 29 points was Darrell Armstrong's 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Drew Gooden's 15 points and seven rebounds. Gordan Giricek snapped out of a slump to score 10 points, all in a crucial third-quarter burst.

"For those guys to play like that, man, that can carry us a long way in the playoffs," said McGrady, who fell short of a third straight 40-point game. "I told them (Thursday) to go out there and play the game, don't change it for me. And they did a great job of that.

"If they continue to play like that, I really don't have to do much."

In a loss at Detroit on Wednesday, McGrady had 46 points and everyone else 31. That embarrassment made the Game 3 victory sweeter for Armstrong.

"It's ridiculous when you hear people talk about this is a one-man team," said Armstrong, who made his first five shots. "He's definitely our guy, definitely the guy who got us here - but other guys are setting picks to get him open, too."

For Detroit, Richard Hamilton scored 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting while Corliss Williamson added 16 off the bench. Ben Wallace set a playoff career-best with 22 rebounds.

The Pistons shot 39 percent while turning the ball over 16 times and having seven shots blocked. Point guard Chauncey Billups, who bruised his left thigh in the third quarter, was held to five points with five turnovers against two assists.

"You're not going to beat a team like Orlando if you can't hold them down to somewhere in the low to mid-40s (shooting percentage," Detroit coach Rick Carlisle said. "They ended up shooting 48 for the game, which is a losing number for us."

Orlando forged a 63-54 lead midway through the third quarter when, on consecutive possessions, Giricek hit a 3-pointer, Gooden banked in a heave while being knocked down and Giricek hit another 3 and a jumper. His shots snapped his 1-for-14 skid following a series-opening basket last Sunday, and his teammates mobbed him in joy when the Pistons called timeout.

"A lot of it is confidence," said Giricek, who was slumping entering the playoffs. "I finally made a shot, then two, then three, and then you know you have your confidence back."

Fueling Orlando's 10-0 breakout was Armstrong's on-the-ball defense to force four straight turnovers. The Magic soon extended their lead to 67-56, and the Pistons never came within six points from there.

In the second half, Detroit shot 32 percent with 11 turnovers. The Pistons were so inept on offense, they only outscored Orlando by a point in the fourth quarter despite holding the Magic to two field goals

"We probably stopped doing the little things, helping each other get open, getting something on the weak side and things like that," said Hamilton, who shot 2-for-11 after the break.

Orlando tried to get McGrady's teammates involved early through a deliberate style, out of character for the East's second-most potent offense. The halfcourt sets failed more often than not, and in the opening six minutes the Magic had five turnovers and McGrady had only one shot as they fell behind 15-6.

Hamilton, meanwhile, got off to a good start for the second straight game. Shooting over the Magic's shorter guards, Hamilton had 13 points in the quarter as Detroit led 29-19 at the period's end.

Despite the Magic's early troubles scoring, shooting wasn't a problem - and that's what carried them to a 48-46 halftime lead. Orlando made 12 of its first 17 shots in the second quarter, with Gooden making four straight to give him six consecutive for the half.

McGrady had 14 points in the half, and with his teammates finally making shots, he added four assists -equaling his total from the previous two games.

Spurs 99, Suns 86

PHOENIX - Tony Parker, Stephen Jackson and others on Tim Duncan's supporting cast made the Phoenix Suns pay for their defensive strategy.

Parker, 3-for-20 in the first two games of the series, made 12 of 21 shots - most of them from long range - for a career playoff-high 29 points as the Spurs beat the Suns 99-86 Friday night.

The Suns' strategy was to stop Duncan from scoring and let the rest of the San Antonio Spurs beat them if they could. That's exactly what the others did.

Jackson added 20 points despite foul trouble, Malik Rose scored 15 and Emmanuel Ginobili 12.

Duncan scored just 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting but grabbed 23 rebounds, two shy of his career playoff best, as San Antonio dominated the boards 51-35.

David Robinson, who missed Game 2 with partially torn cartilage in his left knee, started and had eight points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes.

The Suns' only lead was 2-0 as San Antonio turned up the physical intensity to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Sunday night in Phoenix.

Stephon Marbury scored 25 points, Shawn Marion 18 and newly named Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudemire added 17 for the Suns, who shot just 38 percent.

Duncan took only four shots in the first half, and the Spurs still led 53-36. San Antonio outscored the Suns 17-6 over the last 5:39 of the half. Jackson sank a pair of 3-pointers during the run before going to the bench with three fouls. His replacement, Ginobili, also made a pair of 3's.

Phoenix scored the first eight points of the second half, five by Marion, to cut the lead to 53-44. Rebound baskets by Robinson and Bruce Bowen boosted the lead to 57-44, and the Spurs led 69-56 entering the fourth.

Phoenix briefly cut the lead to 10 before another San Antonio outburst made it 79-58 on Jackson's basket with 8:12 to play.

Marion's breakaway stuff cut the lead to 94-84 with 2:15 to play, but Jackson's 3-pointer on San Antonio's next possession ended any comeback hopes.

The Spurs' starting guards - Parker and Jackson - were a combined 12-for-18 from the field in the first half for 27 points. Their Suns' counterparts, Marbury and Penny Hardaway, were 6-for-17 for 14 points. The Suns' Joe Johnson was 1-for-11 in the game.

Mavericks 115, Trail Blazers 103

PORTLAND, Ore. - Dirk Nowitzki was amazed at how the Portland Trail Blazers left him so wide open. Especially given his recent history.

Nowitzki had another brilliant offensive performance with 42 points Friday night as the Dallas Mavericks beat Portland 115-103 to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Nowitzki, who had a career-high 46 points in the opener, also had 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who can advance with a victory in Game 4 in Portland on Sunday.

"I was actually surprised at how open I was," Nowitzki said. "We moved the ball really well and every one was shooting the ball really well. So we were able to attack them and chase us all over the floor."

Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks wasn't about to disagree.

"He wasn't the only one surprised," Cheeks said. "I was surprised, too."

Things suddenly look worse for the already injury-plagued Trail Blazers, who couldn't find a way - again - to defend Nowitzki and now face the daunting task of trying to become the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

The Blazers have lost 10 straight playoff games - dating back to their collapse against the Lakers in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals in 2000.

They've lost six in a row under Cheeks, and a loss Sunday would tie the NBA record of 11 consecutive postseason defeats shared by the Baltimore Bullets and Denver Nuggets.

With Scottie Pippen in street clothes and Derek Anderson out indefinitely because of a knee injury, the Blazers trailed by as many as 14 points.

But they closed in on Arvydas Sabonis' short jumper and went ahead 85-84 on Zach Randolph's free throws after Eduardo Najera's foul with 32.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

The two teams traded the lead until Steve Nash's 3-pointer put the Mavericks ahead 91-87 with 9:05 left in the game. Nowitzki followed with the first in a string of three 3-pointers to help put the Mavs ahead 102-94 with 5:58 left.

Dallas never trailed again.

"Dirk is absolutely unbelievable," said Nick Van Exel, who had 14 points for Dallas. "He shoots 3s where it looks like layups. It's incredible to play with a 7-footer that strokes the ball so perfect."

Raef LaFrentz had 20 points for the Mavericks, while Nash finished with 12 points and 10 assists.

Ruben Patterson led the Blazers with 19 points.

The smoke from the pre-game fireworks hadn't yet cleared when the Mavs took a 14-4 lead on Nash's 3-pointer in the first quarter, and sellout crowd at the Rose Garden booed.

Sabonis helped orchestrate a Blazers rally, bringing them within 42-39 with a hook shot. But the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian collected three fouls quickly and went to the bench with a little more than seven minutes to go in the first half.

The Mavs led by as many as 12 in the half, but Patterson's tip-in made it just 64-61 at the break.

Pippen, the Portland's on-court leader, watched from courtside for the second straight playoff game.

Pippen had surgery on his left knee on March 18 and missed 17 games. He returned for the Blazers' final two regular-season games and played 32 minutes in the series opener, but then the pain and swelling came back.

Anderson strained his left knee three minutes into Wednesday's 103-99 loss. Cheeks announced earlier Friday that Anderson had a torn meniscus and was out indefinitely.

The Blazers had won 13 of their previous 15 against the Mavericks in Portland.

"I'm trying to get a (playoff) win for the first time and we're trying to win that first one," Cheeks said. "Like I said to the team, the series isn't over until someone gets four wins."