The night at Kia Center began as the home fans expected. The Orlando Magic shot 56.1 percent from the field and established a 22-24 point lead. But that’s when things changed from good to worse in a 93-79 loss. In fact, things went so south that Jamahl Mosley’s side couldn’t make a single bucket for a prolonged stretch, ultimately going 1-27 from the field over the final ~16-45 minutes in one of the most inexplicable offensive droughts in playoff memory. When the coaching manual doesn’t work, the fans take it upon themselves, and today was that instance.
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A young courtside fan’s exasperated yell of “GET IT TOGETHER!” at the Magic stars, including Paolo Banchero, quickly went viral, perfectly encapsulating the frustration of a home crowd watching a sure closeout victory slip away.
Duncan Robinson hit a 27-foot three-point pull-up jump shot, which helped the Pistons to 88-75, their biggest lead tonight with 3:10 remaining. The Pistons began the final frame trailing, but outscored Orlando dramatically as the Magic were limited to free throws.
- The Detroit Pistons came back from a 24-point deficit to force Game 7, the largest comeback by any road team in the NBA playoffs since 1996-97.
- The Magic went 1-27 shooting over the final 16 minutes of tonight’s game, making 1-of-20 shots in the fourth quarter.
- The Pistons held the Magic to just 19 points in the second half (a new NBA playoff record for fewest points in a half) and only eight points in the fourth quarter (franchise playoff low). This shattered the previous playoff half-scoring lows of 23 points.
The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots from the field, and Detroit went on a 35-5 run. They went on a 51-15 run from the start of the third until nearly the end of the game. They held Orlando to just four made field goals. Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane combined for 25 first-half points, but the duo went 2/20 from the field in the second half.
“Detroit grit,” Cade Cunningham said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about all year.” Their head coach had a simple message.
“We weren’t going to get it all back at once.” He asked his players to “stay in the moment”. But it was easier said than done. Because, in the second quarter, Magic outscored Pistons 35-12.
In fact, Orlando outscored Detroit 17-0 from 3-point range and the free-throw line in that quarter. They held the away team to 2-for-11 shooting over the first 5:48 of the period and took a 60-38 lead into the half.
This Game 6 meltdown was painful for a Magic team that had won eight of its last nine postseason games at Kia Center and entered with a strong home closeout history. Now, after squandering multiple opportunities to eliminate the top-seeded Pistons (series tied 3-3), Orlando faces a daunting Game 7 on the road.
Paolo Banchero’s head coach remains optimistic
They were also previously 4-1 all-time in home playoff series closeout games. With the quick start, it seemed they would continue this streak. Instead, the shots stopped going in, and the Pistons took the advantage.
“This team always shows fight,” Mosley said. “There’s no other way to put it. This does suck… And the reality is it’s got to sting, and it’s got to hurt right now. But you’ve got to be able to bounce back, and you’ve given yourself an opportunity to go get it done in Game 7.”
Young fans and all Magic loyalists across the board should be hopeful. But in this series, in Game 2, Orlando scored 83, which was their lowest point total. Now Game 6 was worse than that. Whether the fans’ plea resonates in Detroit remains to be seen, but no one will feel safe with an early lead again.
