Richard Hamilton scored 19 of his 31 points in the first half, made victory-sealing free throws late in the game and Tayshaun Prince had a key block, helping Detroit hold off the visiting Orlando Magic, 91-86, last night in Game 5 of the second-round series, giving them a 4-1 victory.

"Playing in six straight is awesome, but now we expect to do this," said Coatesville High's Hamilton. "We're supposed to be here."

Detroit made just 36 percent of its shots and allowed the Magic to make nearly half of its attempts, but made up for the disparity at the free-throw line and by taking care of the ball.

The Pistons were 28-for-32 at the line and had just three turnovers while Orlando was 16-for-28 and had a playoff-high 21 turnovers, which turned into 34 points for Detroit.

Detroit's lead was down to 85-84 with just under a minute left after Hedo Turkoglu made back-to-back shots. But the Pistons finished the game off when Hamilton made two key free throws, Prince blocked a dunk attempt by Turkoglu, and Hamilton made two more at the line in the last 20 seconds.

"We played them tough," said Chester High and Saint Joseph's Jameer Nelson. "If there's anyone in their locker room who didn't think this was tough, they don't know what tough is."

In another game:

* At New Orleans, David West had career playoff highs of 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the Hornets to a 101-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

New Orleans leads the series, 3-2. Game 6 is tomorrow at San Antonio.

Chris Paul had 16 of his 22 points in the second half and added 14 assists for New Orleans, which has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs.

Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 20 points.

Noteworthy

D'Antoni won at least 54 games with Phoenix each of the last four seasons and earned coach of the year honors in 2005.

* Kobe Bryant walked a bit gingerly as he emerged from the training area at the Los Angeles Lakers' headquarters, but said he definitely will play tonight against Utah in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinal series, which is tied, 2-2.

* Larry Bird has filed a lawsuit alleging a couple who bought his former home in southern Indiana is improperly using his name to promote a bed-and-breakfast. *