PHILADELPHIA — Hours before tip-off of last night's Game 6 between the Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit coach Flip Saunders made this astute observation.

"More than anything else, you want to end a series to get it over with," Saunders said, "because until it's over, it's not over."

Good point. But he didn't have much to worry about.

Five minutes into the game, for all intents and purposes, the series was over.

A 10-0 Pistons start led to an early 19-point lead that took the last shred of intrigue out of a first-round matchup that proved to be more suspenseful than most predicted. The Pistons carried it to a 100-77 win, disposing of the Sixers, four games to two.

The second round against the No. 3-seeded Orlando Magic begins Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich. Last year, those two met in the first round, and the Magic was swept into summer vacation.

But the Magic — and its centerpiece, "Superman" center Dwight Howard — is no longer playoff newbies. Orlando advanced by beating the No. 6-seeded Toronto Raptors in five games, the only Eastern Conference team to close a series so quickly.

The Pistons are just happy they didn't need a Game 7. They made certain of that from the opening tip Thursday. Less than five minutes in, the sparse Philly crowd — entire sections of the upper level were near empty — was booing its own team.

It started after Richard Hamilton scored the first seven points of the game off Philly turnovers. Hamilton made his first five baskets and stayed hot, going 9-for-14 for 24 points.

As a team, the Pistons shot 11-for-16 and led, 30-12, by the end of the first quarter.

The Sixers tried to slow the Pistons with a full-court press, but even when that tactic ate up the shot clock, the Pistons ended possessions swinging the ball to open players all over the floor. And their last-second shots kept falling. The Pistons shot 58.2 percent for the game and had 28 assists.

Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups ended the first half with a buzzer-beater to put his team up 18. He finished with 20, missing only three times. Forward Tayshaun Prince, who scored 12, tossed in a last-second jumper in the third that put the Pistons up 24. He missed only one of six attempts.

Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks reached for answers to the Pistons' quick start. He subbed in Reggie Evans and Jason Smith earlier than usual. In the second quarter, he motioned for 11-year veteran Kevin Ollie to get on the floor for the first time since the Pistons' blowout win in Game 2.

Nothing worked. The Sixers went 24-for-36 at the free-throw line. Starting point guard Andre Miller was 4-for-16 from the floor and finished with 11 points.

The Sixers tried trapping, and it provided brief moments of hope, especially during a second-quarter run that cut the Pistons lead to 12. The Pistons had 10 turnovers in the first half, including four from Hamilton.

But the Sixers couldn't take enough advantage as they shot 30.6 percent in the half and had eight turnovers of their own. And the Pistons scored off each one, with 18 points off turnovers by halftime.

Just 35 seconds into the fourth quarter, with a 30-point lead, Saunders felt comfortable enough to sub out all his starters but Prince.