When things get sideways, people splinter. This group does the opposite.
In the long history of sport, few forces are as humbling as momentum reversed — and on Friday night in Orlando, the Detroit Pistons reminded a full arena of that truth. Facing elimination and trailing by 22 points at halftime, the Pistons did not fold but instead found something steady within themselves, outscoring the Magic by 35 to 5 across the game's final stretches to win 93-79 and force a decisive Game 7 at home. What Orlando built so confidently in the first half — a historic lead, a roaring crowd, a path to the second round — dissolved into one of the worst shooting collapses the modern NBA has ever recorded. The series, like so many human contests, now comes down to a single game, and the question of who truly belongs.
- Detroit walked into Orlando's arena facing elimination, down 22 at halftime and seemingly hours away from a playoff exit.
- Orlando's offense then suffered a historic collapse — 4-for-37 shooting in the second half, including 23 consecutive misses, the worst half-shooting performance in the play-by-play era.
- Cade Cunningham's 32 points anchored a 35-5 Pistons run that turned a blowout into a rout going the other direction, with the Kia Center crowd booing as fans streamed toward the exits.
- The Magic have now wasted two consecutive chances to close out the series, squandering leads in both opportunities and surrendering home-court advantage in the process.
- Game 7 heads to Detroit on Sunday — the Magic must now win on the road to reach the second round, while the Pistons carry the momentum of the improbable.
The Detroit Pistons arrived in Orlando on Friday night one loss away from going home for the summer. By halftime, trailing 60-38, that fate looked all but sealed — the Magic had exploded in the second quarter, outscoring Detroit 35-12 and building the fourth-largest halftime lead an eighth seed has ever held over a first seed in the modern playoff era. The Kia Center was electric. Orlando appeared ready to complete one of the great upsets in recent playoff memory.
Then the second half began, and nothing worked for the Magic again. Orlando shot 4-for-37 from the field after the break — 11 percent — missing 23 consecutive shots at one stretch, the worst half-shooting performance since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data. The Pistons seized on every miss, going on a 35-5 run that inverted the entire game. Detroit won 93-79, forcing a Game 7 on Sunday at home.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 32 points, while Tobias Harris added 22. For Orlando, Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane each scored 17, but the Magic — again without injured Franz Wagner — could not sustain what they had built. It was their second failed closeout opportunity in the series.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff pointed to discipline and detail as the turning point, crediting his team for focusing on every possession, every screen, every rebound. Guard Duncan Robinson offered something more personal: 'When things get sideways, people splinter. This group does the opposite.' Magic coach Jamahl Mosley kept it simple — 'We've got to do it the hard way.' On Sunday in Detroit, they will have to.
The Detroit Pistons walked into Orlando's arena Friday night facing elimination. By halftime, they were down 22 points and the Magic looked ready to complete one of the great upsets in playoff history—an eighth seed knocking off the top seed in the first round. Then something broke in Orlando's game, and it never got fixed.
Cade Cunningham finished with 32 points, but the real story wasn't his scoring. It was what happened in the third quarter, when the Pistons outscored the Magic 24-11 and the entire momentum of the series inverted. Detroit won 93-79, forcing a Game 7 on Sunday at home. The Magic, who had been one win away from advancing, now faced the prospect of going back to Detroit with everything on the line.
The first half had belonged entirely to Orlando. The Magic led 26-25 after one quarter, then exploded in the second, outscoring Detroit 35-12. They shot 17 points from three-pointers and free throws while holding the Pistons to 2-for-11 shooting early in the period. By intermission, Orlando had built a 60-38 lead—the fourth-largest halftime advantage ever held by an eighth seed over a first seed in the modern playoff format. The Kia Center was loud. The Magic looked poised to make history.
What followed was historic in a different way. Orlando's offense simply stopped working. The Magic shot 11 percent from the field in the second half—4 of 37 attempts—the worst shooting performance by any team in a playoff or regular-season half since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data. At one stretch, they missed 23 consecutive shots. The Pistons went on a 35-5 run that turned the game upside down. By the time it was over, the crowd that remained in the building was booing as fans left, possibly for the last time this season.
Tobias Harris added 22 points for Detroit. Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane each scored 17 for Orlando, which was again without injured forward Franz Wagner. The Magic had now squandered two chances to close out the series—they were 0-2 in closeout opportunities.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff credited his team's focus on the fundamentals. "We took each possession at a time, both offensively and defensively, and tried our best to execute on every single possession," he said. "Every screening action, every rebound, all the small things. We went out and focused on that."
Guard Duncan Robinson spoke to something less tangible—the character of the locker room. "When things get sideways, people splinter," he said. "And this group does the opposite. It finds a way to just come together. There's a lot of pride in that locker room, not wanting to go out like that."
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley was brief in his assessment. "We've got to go do it the hard way," he said. Game 7 will be in Detroit on Sunday, with the series now entirely open. The Magic had been one win away from the second round. Now they have to win on the road to get there.
Notable Quotes
Detroit grit. That's what we've been talking about all year.— Cade Cunningham, Pistons guard
We've got to go do it the hard way.— Jamahl Mosley, Magic coach
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How does a team blow a 24-point lead in a playoff game? Is it just bad shooting, or is something else happening?
It's both, but the shooting collapse is almost a symptom. When you miss 23 straight shots, something psychological has broken. The Magic weren't just missing—they stopped trusting what they were doing. And Detroit's defense tightened. The Pistons made every possession harder.
Did the Magic play poorly in the first half, or did Detroit just let them play?
Orlando was genuinely excellent in the first half. They executed, they shot well, they controlled the game. This wasn't Detroit playing badly early—it was Orlando playing the basketball they needed to play to win. Then the second half happened.
What does it say about the Pistons that they came back from that?
It says they didn't panic. Bickerstaff kept them focused on small things—screens, rebounds, execution. Robinson talked about the group not splintering when things got hard. That's a team with real character.
Is Orlando's season over?
Not yet. They go back to Detroit for Game 7. But they've now failed twice to close out a series they should have won. That's a heavy thing to carry into a winner-take-all game on the road.
What was the worst part of the Magic's collapse?
The 11 percent shooting in the second half. That's not just bad luck—that's a complete offensive breakdown. When you can't make anything, doubt creeps in. Every miss makes the next shot harder to take.
Does Cunningham's 32 points feel like the real story here?
Not really. He played well, but the story is that Orlando stopped playing. Cunningham benefited from that, but the game was decided by what Orlando couldn't do, not just what Detroit did.