The Pistons beat the magic, 116-94, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich., to win the series , four games to three, becoming one of 15 teams to ever come back from a 3-1 playoff deficit. (One was Saturday — the Sixers beating the Celtics).
Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 12 assists, center Jalen Duran had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, and forward Tobias Harris just missed being the third Pistons double-double, with 30 points and nine rebounds, as Detroit outmuscled the Magic, who were playing without valuable forward Franz Wagner, who strained a calf muscle in Game 4's second half.
Magic guard Paolo Banchero led all scorers with 38 points, adding 9 rebounds and six assists, but depth scoring proved a problem for Orlando, as starters Jalen Suggs and Jamal Cain managed a combined 11 points over a combined 60 minutes on court, and just 16 points came from the bench, led by Anthony Black's 11.
The big difference was shooting percentage, with the Pistons pumping in 51 percent of their shots, including 16-33 from three (48 percent), compared to the Magic's 41 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc (10 of 30).
My take: The loss of Wagner in Game 5, 6, and 7 was a factor in the Magic not winning the series, but they had a 24-point lead at home in Game 6 — 62-38 — early in the second half, but managed just 17 points for the remainder of the game in a crushing 93-79 loss. The series was lost there, not Sunday, when the top team in the Eastern Conference this season, very much played like it.
THE ASYLUM
Pistons complete comeback
The Pistons beat the magic, 116-94, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich., to win the series , four games to three, becoming one of 15 teams to ever come back from a 3-1 playoff deficit. (One was Saturday — the Sixers beating the Celtics).
Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 12 assists, center Jalen Duran had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, and forward Tobias Harris just missed being the third Pistons double-double, with 30 points and nine rebounds, as Detroit outmuscled the Magic, who were playing without valuable forward Franz Wagner, who strained a calf muscle in Game 4's second half.
Magic guard Paolo Banchero led all scorers with 38 points, adding 9 rebounds and six assists, but depth scoring proved a problem for Orlando, as starters Jalen Suggs and Jamal Cain managed a combined 11 points over a combined 60 minutes on court, and just 16 points came from the bench, led by Anthony Black's 11.
The big difference was shooting percentage, with the Pistons pumping in 51 percent of their shots, including 16-33 from three (48 percent), compared to the Magic's 41 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc (10 of 30).
My take: The loss of Wagner in Game 5, 6, and 7 was a factor in the Magic not winning the series, but they had a 24-point lead at home in Game 6 — 62-38 — early in the second half, but managed just 17 points for the remainder of the game in a crushing 93-79 loss. The series was lost there, not Sunday, when the top team in the Eastern Conference this season, very much played like it.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits!
We’d love to have you!