The Detroit Pistons are back in playoff action.
The 1-seed Pistons play the 8-seed Orlando Magic on Wednesday, April 22, in Game 2 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The game is scheduled for a start time of 7 p.m. ET, and will be on the TV channel ESPN, with streaming available on Fubo.
The Magic beat the Pistons 112-101 in Game 1 on Sunday night, taking a surprise 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Pistons want to snap an NBA-record 11-game home playoff losing streak, including 0-6 all-time at LCA, dating back to the 2008 East finals against the Boston Celtics − 6,540 days since their last home playoff win.
Watch the NBA playoffs on Fubo
Though not mathematically a must-win game for Detroit, it needs to play with desperation since it does not want to head to Orlando down 0-2 in the series. That means getting better performances from All-Star center Jalen Duren and Defensive Player of the Year finalist Ausar Thompson. Each scored just eight points in Game 1 and did not play well enough defensively, either.
We’ll have all the live updates from Magic-Pistons Game 2 at LCA right here.
Pistons vs Magic Game 2 live updates
This section will be updated after tipoff.
J.B. Bickerstaff addresses Game 1: ‘It was one bad night.’
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff addressed the media ahead of Game 2, explaining what ultimately led to an unexpected loss in Game 1.
“I don’t consider what happened a lack of effort, it just seemed to be that we were a little bit off,” he said. “We’ve consistently been way better than that, so I don’t expect it to repeat itself … it was one bad night.”
Bickerstaff said he expected the team’s “high level” to show up for Game 2.
Little Caesars Arena all set up
We’re about 20 minutes away from fans being let into the building, with the seats at Little Caesars Arena draped in white giveaway shirts.
Will Pistons fans wear them? Based on the past two playoff appearances, probably not.
Pistons vs Magic start time in Game 2 of playoffs
Pistons vs Magic channel in Game 2 of playoffs
Wednesday’s Game 2 between the Pistons and Magic can be watched on ESPN and streamed on Fubo, which carries ABC and ESPN.
Watch Pistons vs Magic Game 2 on Fubo
Pistons vs Magic odds in Game 2 of playoffs
The Pistons are big favorites again in Game 2 against the Magic:
Odds provided by BetMGM as of Wednesday afternoon.
Pistons injury report Game 2
Updates from the official NBA injury report.
Magic injury report Game 2
Pistons uniform Game 2 vs Magic
It’s the same as Game 1: The Pistons will wear their white uniform, while the Magic will wear their Statement Edition black uniforms with white pinstripes and blue across the shoulders.
Pistons vs Magic playoff schedule
Here’s the first-round schedule for the best-of-seven series:
Who will Pistons play if they beat Magic?
The NBA does not re-seed after the first round of the playoffs, meaning the winner of the 1-8 series (Pistons-Magic) will face the winner of the 4-5 series (Cleveland Cavaliers-Toronto Raptors; Cavs lead, 2-0).
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons vs Magic TV channel, time and live updates for Game 2
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
