The Lakers took a beating Sunday night against the Spurs, losing 84 to 103

Perhaps you’ve heard by now how important home-court advantage has been in these NBA playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs (-5.5) won Game 3 at home Sunday for the second series in a row to avoid an 0-3 deficit, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 103-84.

This is a big step up for the Spurs, who were 12-1 to win the NBA championship after losing the first two games of their Western Conference final in L.A.; the Lakers were 5-7. San Antonio crawled out of the same hole to beat the Hornets in the second round.

While the emotional Spurs-Lakers series embraces the drama of Euro-style basketball, the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons are efficiently beating the holy tar out of each other. The Celtics took a 2-1 series lead in Detroit with their first road win of the playoffs, enough to lift the C’s to 2-1 in the NBA title futures market. The Pistons are competitive at 11-2.

We finally know who will play in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals – although we suspected this matchup for quite some time. It’ll be the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons, following Boston’s Game 7 win on Sunday over the pesky Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland finished that series 6-1 against the spread.

Chauncey Billups is expected to start against the Celtics in Tuesday’s opener at the Garden. Detroit will have enjoyed a six-day break, while the C’s have been extended to Game 7 in both the first two rounds. The grind of playing a defensively tight series against the Cavs has to be taken into consideration.

The Los Angeles Lakers are counting on the same fatigue factor when they host the winner of Monday’s Game 7 between the New Orleans Hornets and the visiting San Antonio Spurs. The Hornets and Spurs have each won on their own floor, but unlike the Cavs-Celtics, the home team has yet to cough up the cash.

Bet on the NBA Western Conference Finals and NBA Championship here.

If the Boston Celtics want to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series against the Cleveland Cavaliers they have to win game six in Cleveland. The thing is, the Celtics haven’t won a game in Cleveland since 2004. Let’s hope they can replicate Wednesday’s game, where the Celtics beat the Cavs 96-89. In that game, Kevin Garnett scored 26 points; Rajon Rondo picked up 20 points and 13 assists; and Paul Pierce scored a team-high 29 points.

“We’ve got some work cut out for us as we go out here on this road and try to close this out, which is the most important thing for us right now,” Pierce said.

“The second quarter - we had a lot more energy,” said Garnett, who led all players with 16 rebounds. “Offensively, Rondo hit some big shots, got us going, got us in the flow, and we carried it over to the third quarter.”

The sportsbooks have the Celtics at 5/8 odds to win the Eastern Conference Championship, and 7/4 odds to win the NBA Championship title.

The Detroit Pistons will look to build on a 2-0 lead vs. the Orlando Magic in Game 3 tonight (at 8 ET on TNT). The Pistons took the last game at home and although critics are saying that the Magic have to play a perfect game tonight to win, the Pistons aren’t quick to write this team off yet.

“When they are making shots on the perimeter, they are tough to stop,” Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince said. “We got to start manning up and put more pressure on those guys and make them get off that (3-point line).”

The Pistons have made five straight appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals. And for the second consecutive season, the Magic are staring up at a 2-0 series deficit against the Pistons.

Still, oddsmakers like the Magic as 4-point favorites over the Pistons with the over/under listed at 187. The Magic are 3-0 SU at home in the playoffs and 3-4 ATS.

The Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers game follows the Pistons at Magic game at 10:30 p.m.

Want more? Here’s the complete NBA playoffs schedule.