Game Recap: Magic 113, Pistons 105
The Magic defeat the Pistons, 113-105, to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
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Paolo Banchero’s circus shot wound up being unnecessary, triggering a few smiles and alleviating some tension in the final minute of Orlando’s 113-105 home victory Saturday. But in the moment, it seemed invaluable as the bucket that pushed the Magic’s lead from five points to eight – with 38 seconds left, a three-possession lead beats the heck out of a two-possession margin.
No one knew at the time that Detroit already was done scoring for the night, its final points coming way back at the 2:52 mark. So it was 110-105 when Orlando center Wendell Carter Jr. appeared to deke Cade Cunningham in the post into his ninth turnover. Banchero got the steal with 58.3 seconds left and, 20 seconds after that, launched a 3-pointer.
The ball hit the heel of the rim and kicked high, straight up. There was just enough time to flash back to that Tyrese Haliburton freak shot against the Knicks last spring in Game 1 of the East Finals, before Banchero’s shot dropped straight down through the rim.
“The optimist in me was like, ‘That’s going in,’” Banchero said.
The optimists in Orlando are feeling good about the Magic’s chances now that they hold a 2-1 lead in their first-round series against Detroit. The Pistons have until Monday to figure out how to grab back homecourt advantage in Game 4 (8 ET, NBC/Peacock).
Here are four takeaways from Game 3:
1. Your momentum, wait, our momentum
The floor seemed tilted against Orlando. The Magic had done so much, so right late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to craft a handsome 96-79 lead with less than nine minutes left and then … everything shifted.
Over the next five minutes, the Pistons accelerated hard, hit shots, earned free throws, cashed in on second chances and bottled up Orlando’s offense. To the dismay of the Kia Center crowd and maybe another dozen or more fellows in Magic uniforms, a lead that had been 17 vanished in a flash. Paolo Banchero got blocked at the rim, Cade Cunningham hit a 26-foot pull-up three and poof! Gone.
Tied at 104-104, the Magic looked flat-footed. And worse, when Jalen Suggs threw the ball away coming out of his coach’s timeout. Cunningham got fouled and hit one of two free throws for the Pistons’ first lead of the half. Now not only was Orlando’s momentum gone, the air in the building was leaking out.
That’s when the game flinched. In a three-play sequence of 44 seconds, the Magic altered the trajectory and reset the mood. Franz Wagner sank a jumper off the dribble with 2:30 left. Tobias Harris, so essential to Detroit’s rally, missed from 15 feet and when the ball rolled off the rim, it was Magic center Wendell Carter who claimed it. Then it was Wagner again, draining a 3 from 27 feet.
Somehow the Magic had slammed the brakes on a freefall. They were up 109-105 and 1:46 remained. Four points – 109-105 – normally wouldn’t feel safe, but the way Orlando closed, it proved insurmountable. That Cunningham free throw with 2:52 left? The Pistons’ last point. The Magic scored the night’s final nine.
“Runs are part of the game. We’ve got to recognize what’s happening within them,” said Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley. “Are we getting the right shots, are we organizing what we’re doing offensively, are we getting the right type of stops? They hit some tough shots, we fouled a few times. But being able to settle it down. And part of that is, can we get to the free throw line in those moments to stop the run, get our composure, communicate with one another and get our sets right and get our defense set up right?”
The Magic responded with a bundle of yeses to Mosley’s questions. They might even emerge better off for getting chased down yet wriggling free. Detroit had no intention of slowing down the stretch, until Orlando painted a tunnel opening on a mountain wall in time for the Pistons to go splat.
2. Harris offers glimpse of value to Cunningham
Too often in this series, Detroit’s point guard has seemed to be playing in a 1-on-5 predicament, with teammates cold or not clicking as reliable secondary scoring sources. Unhappy Pistons fans have been grumbling about coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s lineups and rotations, a shortage of perimeter shooters (that explained Javonte Green’s 23 minutes Saturday), and even the need for a backcourt upgrade next to Cunningham – remember Jaden Ivey?
At least Tobias Harris responded this time like the veteran scorer he is. Harris scored 23 points, 10 during the rush to tie in the fourth. Now he needs to do it as aggressively for a bigger chunk of the game.
By the way, non-Cunningham minutes could become a thing in Detroit the way non-Jokić minutes matter in Denver. In the 119 minutes their All-NBA point guard has been on the floor in the series, the Pistons are seven points better than Orlando. In the 25 he has sat, they have been outscored by 11.
3. Bully ball backfires on Bickerstaff’s bunch
Look, the NBA gets it: Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart is all about intimidation, a boxer in a hoops player’s uniform. Teammate Jalen Duren is so ripped, you’d wince just standing next to him. But the brawn battle hasn’t worked well so far for Detroit.
Duren has underperformed after a regular season in which he earned his first All-Star invitation and was voted to be a finalist for the Kia Most Improved Player award. He had eight points and nine rebounds in Game 3, and is averaging 9.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in the three games, compared to 19.5 and 10.5 during the season. His five blocked shots – Ausar Thompson also swatted five – were great disruptors of Orlando’s attacks. But little is coming for Duren that’s intentional, mostly leaving scraps off broken plays or offensive boards.
Stewart has stepped back even further. He was one of the NBA’s most effective rim protectors this season, but he has yet to reach 20 minutes in any game of the series. It was 12:25 for him Saturday, including a cameo in the fourth quarter in which Stewart missed one shot and was a minus-7 in a mere 1:55.
His first half was busy, at least, with three personal fouls, one technical and one flagrant-1 foul in a scoreless 8:22. After that, Bickerstaff was seen having a 1-on-1 talk with Stewart, presumably about what the Pistons need from him and what they do not.
Credit to Carter for not getting drawn into any antics and winning the strong, bruising race.
4. Magic rotation sorting out
Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero combine for 50 points in Game 3
One of the theories behind Orlando’s underwhelming regular season was their abundance of talent and the lengthy process – still unfinished two weeks into April – needed to sort it out. There was speculation that Banchero and Wagner overlap or chafe in tandem, and other pecking-order concerns that many teams nail down in the fall.
But a formula seems to have emerged in this series. Banchero is the closest thing the Magic has to Cunningham as far as a beginning, middle and end go-to player. Wagner has a knack for showing up late in close games.
Desmond Bane tied a franchise record with seven 3-pointers in Game 3, hitting his first six attempts. Jalen Suggs is streaky enough to ignite his team’s performance or occasionally torch it. With Bane cramping up late and Suggs in foul trouble, Anthony Black provided 26 helpful minutes and shot eight free throws to buy time when other options weren’t working.
If it’s all replicable, Orlando – 7-1 at Kia Center over the past three postseasons – Orlando is a Game 4 victory away from putting real drama into this 1 vs. 8 matchup.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
