Scanning the blogs and beats following the Pistons' 91-86 series clinching win over the Magic in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals ...

A. Sherrod Blakely, mLive.com: "The Detroit Pistons have a nasty habit of allowing teams to hang around the playoffs longer than they probably should, often giving away a winnable game or two in the process. In the past, this has come back to bite them. But this group of Pistons have been saying all season long that they are, well, different. And when they get a chance to put a team away they'll put them away. And when it's time to move on to the next round, consider it done — regardless of who plays or doesn't play."

Third Quarter Collapse: "21 and 3. Those are the only numbers that matter when discussing this game. The Magic turned the ball over 21 times and forced just three turnovers themselves. Logic indicates that disparity won't get it done on any level of basketball, yet we almost stole one from Detroit tonight. But in the end, the Pistons prevailed thanks to their clutch free-throw shooting and defense, not necessarily in that order. Looking at their defense — not just the deflections, steals, and transition baskets, but the whole thing — it's hard to imagine them losing more than three or four games the rest of the postseason."

David Whitley, Orlando Sentinel: "Money time came. The Magic left. Please don't stop if you've read this before. Tuesday night turned into the final variation of a playoff theme for Orlando. When they needed a big play to stay in the game, they got it. But when they really, really, really needed a hero, they ended up with a Hedo. When the going got tough, the Turk got going."

Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel: "Jameer Nelson made another guarantee of sorts after the Detroit Pistons ushered the Orlando Magic into another offseason. "Oh, we're going to be here for a while -- no doubt in my mind. You can write that however you want," he said, managing a grin. "We're not going anywhere. I'm looking forward to wearing an Orlando Magic uniform." The Magic might be predicting that great things are ahead, but they are going on summer vacation."

Bill Khan, mLive.com: "Stuckey ran the point for a Pistons' attack that set an NBA playoff record with only three turnovers, all of which came in the first quarter of a 91-86 close-out victory over the Orlando Magic Tuesday night at The Palace. Stuckey himself had no turnovers, 15 points and six assists in 33 minutes and 12 seconds. It was his second straight start in place of star Chauncey Billups, who injured his hamstring in Game 3. It was a game-time decision to keep Billups in street clothes. Knowing Stuckey could step in and give the Pistons solid play at the point certainly made that an easier decision."

Life After Newhouse: "Until the Magic can find a way to beat the Pistons, they shouldn’t even think about a championship. The team’s only goal in the off-season should be to build a team that can compete with, and beat, the Pistons. Here’s a list of things, the Magic should do to give themselves a better chance next season: [...] Trade Hedo. It kills me to write this, but Hedo really didn’t show up consistently throughout the playoffs. You could argue that he was the MVP during the regular season though, and the Magic would not have come close to where they were without him. His trade value will never be as high as it is right now, and his contract will be very attractive to some teams. If you can trade Hedo, for a solid point guard, you have to make the deal."

Rob Parker, Detroit News: "A lot of the credit for this team has to go to president Joe Dumars, who has put this well-oiled machine together. It's not often a team without a bona fide superstar and with three different coaches over seven years could enjoy this much success. "So many times everyone talks about certain teams have the players that have a guy to carries them," said coach Flip Saunders, who is going to the conference finals for the third time in three years in Detroit. "Joe built this team on the idea of a team, and when one piece happens to go out, the other pieces you can stick in and it can continue to run as a unit, operate on all pistons, no pun intended."

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: "Not that the Pistons are the Germans, but the Magic did do a pretty fair imitation of the French Army at crunch time. Was that Stan Van Gundy cringing every time his team turned over the ball or French Supreme Commander Gen. Maurice Gamelin? Sorry, there will be no piling-on today. We will not make fun of Magic point guard Jameer Nelson and say he's just guaranteed the Central Florida wildfires will be doused today when the clouds open up and start raining strawberry soda."

Joanne C. Gerstner, Detroit News: "Pistons forward Antonio McDyess tried put his grieving heart as far away as possible Tuesday night. There would be a time, after Game 5 against the Magic, to begin to mourn the death of his beloved grandmother Beatrice Harris. But this was not that moment. McDyess went to work, playing inspired basketball against the Magic. McDyess had 17 points (6-for-9 shooting), 11 rebounds and a steal, plus brought a steely will to keep possessions alive. McDyess found out around 3 p.m. that Harris had died in his native Mississippi. McDyess' family wanted to shield him from the news until after the game, as they knew the Pistons had an important clinching opportunity."

John Denton, Florida Today: "Orlando Magic general manager Otis Smith likes to point out that every player, coach and executive — including himself — is under evaluation every day of the season. And Smith likes what he's seen from his Magic players in these playoffs. He likes Orlando's professional approach against the Toronto Raptors when the Magic captured the franchise's first series victory in 12 years. And Smith says he's been proud of how the Magic, a relatively inexperienced team when it comes to the playoffs, have stood up to the veteran-laden Pistons throughout the series."

Related: The Internets are alive, 2008 NBA Playoffs