ORLANDO − The Detroit Pistons’ season appeared to be just about over.
Down 24 points early in the second half.
A rowdy Orlando Magic crowd at Kia Center.
And then, suddenly, a magical comeback ensued.
The Pistons took over the game defensively and used a dominant 51-13 run to turn the deficit into a 14-point lead toward the end of the fourth quarter for a 93-79 victory on Friday, May 1. It’s the biggest playoff comeback in franchise history.
The Pistons forced Game 7 on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET) at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, after trailing the series, 3-1.
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The Pistons are 5-4 all-time in Game 7s since moving to Detroit in 1957, but last played in a Game 7 in 2006 at home at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
“Never say die. Simple as that,” Cade Cunningham said in his postgame interview on the court. “Detroit grit.”
Cunningham led the way with 32 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. He scored 19 in the fourth quarter. Tobias Harris added 22 points, his fourth consecutive game with 20-plus, and Duncan Robinson finished with 14 points going 4-for-9 on 3s.
The Magic were held to 4-for-37 shooting − 10.8% − in the second half, missing 27 of their final 28.
That’s the worst in a regular season or playoff half in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98), according to ESPN Insights.
That included a 1-for-20 performance in the final period, missing their first 16 shots before Paolo Banchero finished a dunk with 2:09 remaining.
Between the third and fourth quarters, the Pistons forced 23 straight misses − 45 minutes between made baskets, per ESPN Insights, from 8:46 p.m. to 9:31 p.m. − the most consecutive bricked shots in a playoff game in the play-by-play era, and won the fourth, 31-8.
The Magic heard boos from their stunned home crowd in the final minutes, outscored 55-19 in the second half.
Banchero (4-for-20) and Desmond Bane (7-for-18) led Orlando with 17 points each.
The Magic were without Michigan alumnus and their second-best player Franz Wagner (calf strain) for a second straight game.
[ The Pistons didn’t want their season to end. So they did something about that, in historic fashion ]
Here’s two more takeaways from a Pistons-Magic game we won’t soon forget:
Paul Reed helps spark second-half rally
A layup by Bane opened the second half and gave the Magic their biggest lead of the night, 62-38.
A historic Pistons takeover followed.
A 16-2 Pistons run fueled by defense (five forced turnovers) after Orlando scored the first points in the third quarter cut the deficit to 64-54 with 5:30 to play in the third.
They outscored Orlando 24-11 in the third period, turning up the defensive intensity to 10 while finally finding a groove offensively. The Pistons used a 16-2 run fueled by defense (five forced turnovers) to cut it to 64-54 with 5:30 to play in the third.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff went with Reed over Stewart in the second half, with the latter not logging a single minute. The gamble paid off.
Reed, who checked in for Jalen Duren with 3:55 remaining in the period, was a difference-maker. They trailed by 17 when he checked in and by nine by the end of the period. He chipped in four points and two blocks in just four minutes, sparking the run with his effort and hustle.
The Pistons answered a 7-0 Magic run with an 8-0 run to cut it to 71-62 entering the final period.
Reed proceeded to play the first four minutes of the fourth before Duren checked back in for him.
Pistons collapse in second quarter
With the season on the line and a 26-25 lead after the first quarter, the Pistons submitted their worst 12-minute stretch of the playoffs.
Orlando opened the second quarter with a furious 22-4 run, turning a one-point game into a 17-point blowout by the 6:11 mark. A new Pistons lineup − Reed, Isaiah Stewart, Caris LeVert, Duncan Robinson and Cunningham − came out flat.
Bickerstaff swapped the two-big lineup for Duren three minutes in, but Duren was a no-show in the quarter and tallied zero points or assists, three rebounds, two fouls and a turnover in roughly nine minutes.
Banchero scored the final six points of the half for the Magic, extending their lead to 60-38 at halftime. The Pistons’ offense was lifeless, shooting 6-for-21 in the second quarter, bullied by the Magic, 35-12.
But they came alive in the third, buoyed by defense as they have all season and awful Orlando offense.
Now, the Pistons get one more chance to extend their season and win the franchise’s first playoff series in 18 years.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons’ euphoric Game 6 comeback shocks Magic 93-79, forces Game 7
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
