The Detroit Pistons are headed to a Sport 7 after storming again from a 24-point deficit to beat the Orlando Magic 93-79 on the highway on the Kia Heart.
Orlando managed the sport early, however every part flipped within the third quarter when Detroit outscored the Magic by 13. From that time on, momentum totally shifted. Cade Cunningham took over, ending with 32 factors, 10 rebounds, three assists and 4 steals, whereas Tobias Harris added 22 factors and 10 rebounds.
Detroit is now one win away from avoiding changing into simply the seventh No. 1 seed in NBA historical past to fall to a No. 8 seed.
The Magic offense fully unraveled after halftime, managing simply 11 factors within the third quarter and eight within the fourth. Throughout that stretch, they endured a brutal run of 23 consecutive missed pictures. Orlando’s 19-point output within the second half was simply a playoff document for any half, breaking the earlier mark of 23 shared by a number of groups.
Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane every scored 17 factors to guide Orlando.
Now, the collection heads again to Detroit for a winner-take-all Sport 7 on Sunday, the place the Pistons will attempt to attain the Japanese Convention semifinals for the primary time for the reason that 2007-08 season.
Listed here are the important thing takeaways heading into Sport 7.
Pistons present resiliency of their worst moments
There’s one thing about being within the worst of conditions that brings the perfect out of those Pistons. After trailing by 24, their greatest deficit of the collection, they summoned a degree of togetherness that appeared almost unimaginable. Detroit outscored Orlando 55-19 within the second half to drag off a run for the ages.
Not solely did the Pistons drive a Sport 7, however they’ve additionally seemingly taken the Magic’s spirit within the course of. Paul Reed fully modified the tenor of the sport together with his minutes throughout that third quarter to assist Detroit claw again into the sport. The Pistons by no means regarded again.
Kia Heart gave the impression to be in a collective state of disbelief as followers filed out early. Those that stayed watched their staff cough up a lead that appeared insurmountable. Detroit is in full management as this collection heads again to Little Caesars Enviornment. The Magic are successfully on the ropes after this one.
The @DetroitPistons recorded the most important comeback by a highway staff dealing with elimination for the reason that 1996-97 season, overcoming a 24-point deficit in Sport 6. pic.twitter.com/1tDHD4MO39
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 2, 2026
The place are the Magic after this collapse?
There have been a complete of 155 Sport 7s in NBA playoff historical past.
4 of these video games had been performed in 2020 in the course of the pandemic, on the Disney bubble, the place home-court benefit was not an element.
Excluding these video games within the bubble, residence groups have gone 113-38 in Sport 7s.
Occurring the highway to Little Caesars Enviornment will likely be a significant drawback for the Magic, however not an insurmountable one. The Magic gained Sport 1 there 112-101 and misplaced a winnable Sport 5 there 116-109 after they went 16 of 30 on foul pictures and allowed the Pistons to gather 16 offensive rebounds.
However this gained’t be a typical Sport 7. This will likely be a Sport 7 after a monumental collapse by the Magic, who took a 24-point lead with 11:11 remaining within the third quarter.
The remainder of the third interval was the worst quarter in Magic franchise historical past. Till the fourth quarter, that’s.
There could have been worse quarters statistically, however these two rank proper up there due to the significance of this recreation. The Magic had an opportunity to shut out a collection at residence, they usually collapsed. Even within the age of 3-pointers, this was a horrible collapse.
The Pistons ramped up their protection, and the Magic misplaced management of their offense, going 3-for-17 from the sector with 5 turnovers within the quarter. Orlando has been liable to opponents’ runs a lot of the season — bear in mind the Raptors’ 31-0 run towards them on March 29? — and this was no completely different, apart from the significance of the state of affairs.
The Magic missed their first 16 shot makes an attempt of the fourth quarter. They solely broke that string when Paolo Banchero scored on a dunk with 2:24 to play, reducing Detroit’s result in 89-77. — Josh Robbins