The Detroit Pistons vowed a big response in Game 2. Mission accomplished.
A suffocating 30-3 run to open the second half allowed the Pistons to run away with Game 2, 98-83, on Wednesday, April 22.
The victory tied the best-of-seven NBA playoff series 1-1, and sends it to Orlando for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. on Peacock. Game 4 is Monday night.
It was a turnaround on both ends for the Pistons after dropping Game 1 on Sunday night in a 112-101 upset, never leading.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons for the second straight game with 27 points and 11 assists, and Tobias Harris (16 points, 11 rebounds), Ausar Thompson (11 points, eight rebounds), Jalen Duren (11 points, nine rebounds and four assists), Duncan Robinson (10 points) and Isaiah Stewart (10 points, two blocks) also reached double figures.
The Pistons earned their first playoff win at LCA in its 10-year history, snapping an 0-6 start and breaking an NBA-record 11-game home playoff losing skid that dated to 2008 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Jalen Suggs led the Magic with 19 points, and Paolo Banchero scored 18 points.
Here are three takeaways from Game 2 of Pistons-Magic:
[ Pistons prove they can dance in wet cement better than Magic in Game 2 ]
Pistons dominate Magic in third quarter
After an uninspiring first half, the Pistons summoned one of their most impressive performances of the calendar year and turned a slugfest into a spanking. They held the Magic to 1-for-9 shooting and forced six turnovers during a 30-3 run to open the second half that turned a tie into a 27-point lead at 76-49 with 4:34 left in the third. Orlando did not make a basket for five minutes during part of the run.
Cunningham came out of halftime firing, immediately sparking an 11-0 spurt to open the third. Harris scored the first bucket – a turnaround jumper from midrange – before Cunningham added another midrange jumper, a dump-off assist to Duren for a dunk and then a layup through contact, followed by an and-1 free throw.
The Magic finally got on the board with a 3-pointer from Desmond Bane (12 points, 2-for-11 shooting) at the 8:54 mark, but the Pistons rattled off 19 consecutive points before Orlando scored again at the 4:20 mark with a split trip at the foul line by Goga Bitadze.
The Pistons won the third quarter 38-16, shooting 14-for-23 (60.9%) while holding Orlando to 5-for-17 shooting (29.4%) with six turnovers.
Isaiah Stewart block party
The Pistons tallied 11 blocks, but the two most impressive might’ve belonged to Stewart, the team’s enforcer. He stuffed two dunk attempts – meeting Suggs at the rim in the third quarter and rejecting another attempt by Banchero in the fourth, which initially was ruled a foul but changed following a Pistons foul. (Banchero finally got him on a poster later in the fourth.)
Stewart kept the Pistons’ momentum going after starters subbed out late in the third, chipping in six points and a block in five minutes. He then set the tone defensively to lead off the fourth. His presence was felt every minute he was on the floor, and he helped his team regain their physical identity in a must-win game.
Turnovers, poor rebounding hurt Pistons early
Defensively, the Pistons responded after a lackluster performance in Game 1. The physicality was higher, rotations were sharper and they overall were more engaged and organized. Yet the score was tied at halftime, 46-46, largely due to their own mistakes.
They committed 12 turnovers, gave up 11 offensive rebounds and were outscored at the free throw line, 14-3, erasing their gains made on the defensive end.
The game started with extremes on both ends – the Pistons recorded seven blocks to tie the playoff record in the first quarter, but also turned the ball over eight times.
Outside of Cunningham, they couldn’t generate consistent offense. Duren got off to another slow start, missing his first three buckets before finally getting a hook to fall midway through the second quarter. Cunningham had 15 points at halftime, and none of his teammates had more than six points.
Pistons Magic playoff schedule
Game 3 of the Magic-Pistons playoff series is Saturday (1 p.m., Peacock) in Orlando. Game 4 is Monday night.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesk
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons tie series with monster run to wipe out Magic 98-83 in Game 2
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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