Orlando — It was over. By the scoreboard, by history, by logic, it was over. The Pistons trailed by 24 early in the second half, the Magic crowd was throwing a party, and the end-of-season gloom loomed.
It was over, except for one little detail — the Pistons’ defense was just getting started.
“Until it’s over, for us, it ain’t over,” J.B. Bickerstaff said after one of the most astounding plot twists in NBA playoff history. “We just have that mentality that you’re gonna have to choke the life out of us, and if not, we’re gonna keep swinging.”
What a wild, staggering swing, and what a crazy turn for the Pistons, who went ahead and choked the life out of the Magic. They clamped on an all-time defensive performance in the second half Friday night and rolled to a 93-79 victory to knot the series 3-3. Game 7 is Sunday (3:30 p.m.) at Little Caesars Arena, and you can bet a hungry crowd will be anxious for more of the same.
With a flourish that set numerous NBA marks, the Pistons unleashed every ounce of ferocity to complete the comeback from 24 down to a 14-point victory. Orlando scored the first basket of the second half to make it 62-38 and then was buried. In one stretch, the Magic missed 23 straight shots, an NBA playoff record.
When the Pistons put their minds to it — and their hearts and arms and legs to it — this is what they can do, outscoring the Magic 55-19 in the second half. It’s also what they’ll need to do again to finish it off.
“Live to see another day, never-say-die mentality, that’s who we are,” said Cade Cunningham, who finished with 32 points, 24 in the second half. “We weren’t gonna lay down for anything. When we’re guarding the way we’re supposed to, it’s really hard for them to score on us. There’s just been too many stretches this series where we haven’t guarded the way we’re supposed to, so we’ve allowed them to have life.”
They’re advised to remember that lesson Sunday, because this has been a series of bizarre runs. In this one, the Pistons went on a 42-10 rampage through the third quarter and into the fourth. Back in Game 2, the Pistons pulled away with a 30-3 run.
But in their Game 5 victory, it was all offense, as Cunningham and Paolo Banchero dueled away, each scoring 45. When the Magic shot 56% in the first half here, the Pistons’ burst came seemingly out of nowhere, although not really.
It’d be easy — and kind of fun — to chalk it up to the Magic’s offensive ineptitude, which we figured was possible once they lost second-leading scorer Franz Wagner to a calf injury. But this was more about the Pistons’ pummeling pressure, as Bickerstaff went to a defense-heavy lineup, with Ausar Thompson, Daniss Jenkins and Paul Reed dogging Orlando all over the floor.
Cunningham looked worn down in the first half, then suddenly energized by the thick scent of a comeback. It was classic Pistons basketball, swatting at every pass, contesting every shot. The on-ball pressure was breath-taking (literally, I suppose) as the Pistons attacked fullcourt.
When Thompson, who finished with 10 rebounds and four blocks, stuffed Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. on a dunk attempt with four minutes remaining, it was the perfect final punch.
“They just continue to impress me, time and time again, you get spoiled by it,” Bickerstaff said. “We changed the amount of pressure we were putting at the point of attack. We changed how active we were on the ball, how physical we were. That’s when we’re at our best.”
It was planted in the locker room at halftime, when Tobias Harris (22 points, 10 rebounds) and others hammered the belief that a comeback was possible. Their defense has delivered so many times, it wasn’t hard for them to believe. Duncan Robinson, who drilled clutch 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, pulled Cunningham aside before the second half and reiterated the message.
“I was trying to stay in his ear, encouraging him to be our best player, to be one of the best players in the world,” Robinson said. “In moments like that, trust us, and he does that masterfully. This group has a lot of pride, and we’re pretty comfortable with our backs against the wall. I think we’re getting back to the identity of how we want to play on both ends.”
It was as if the Pistons took all the pressure stuck to them – the infamy of a No. 1 seed possibly falling to a No. 8 – and slapped it on the Magic. The Pistons have some sort of intrinsic defensive switch, and when they flip it up, look out.
The Magic were 4-for-37 in the second half, one-for-20 in the fourth quarter, when the Pistons outscored them 31-8. Orlando’s 19 total points in the second half were a playoff-record low. I’m also fairly certain Banchero (4-for-20) and Desmond Bane (7-for-18) set a record for number of exasperated head shakes, as the Kia Center crowd booed the final couple minutes.
“They just turned up their defensive pressure and I think we got caught on our heels,” Banchero said. “The series isn’t over. They clawed their way to tie it up 3-3. Game 7, we can go in there and win, that’s got to be the mindset.”
Doing the dirty work
The Pistons’ mindset is to do whatever it takes, with whomever it takes. They really don’t have a choice because they’re not loaded with creative scorers. They need multiple players doing the dirty work, with no egos in the way
Isaiah Stewart had a rough first half Friday night, with 0 points and 0 rebounds. He sat the second half in favor of Reed, the folk-hero backup — “B-Ball Paul” — who doesn’t get many opportunities but makes the most of them. In 10 minutes of playing time, he did it all — six points, six rebounds, three blocks.
“We got guys that are real warriors, we ain’t folding, we ain’t quitting,” Reed said. “We needed a spark off the bench, some guys to bring energy and turn it around.”
Oh they turned it around, in ways we’d never seen, in ways the NBA had rarely seen. But if we’ve learned anything this series, it’s how quickly things can turn right back.
There have been huge runs and huge leads in each game, with the winner pulling away in the final minutes. The Pistons’ defenders know they can unleash at any point, but then, so can the Magic shooters, recent evidence notwithstanding.
Looking exhausted after again playing 40-plus minutes, Cunningham summed up the night, and the unfinished task.
“It keeps us alive,” Cunningham said. “But none of this stuff means anything if we don’t go win Game 7. We’ll be back home, a lot of energy. These last two games have given us a lot of life, brought us back to how we’ve played all season, through our defense.”
They probably don’t want to be 24 points down again before they turn it up. But hey, if it happens, they’ll know what to do.
Bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
@bobwojnowski
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Wojo: Pistons’ defense suffocates Magic in historic fashion, forces Game 7
Reporting by Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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