It’s a wild scene worth explaining, especially if your friend doesn’t follow the NBA closely.
In a playoff elimination game, the No. 8 seed Magic were leading the No. 1 Pistons 60-38 at halftime, which gave them a 3-2 series advantage.
Remarkably, the Pistons, just the seventh No. 1 seed in NBA history facing the risk of elimination by an No. 8 seed, turned things around dramatically. They launched a defensive resurgence that saw them outscore the Magic 55-19 in the second half, much to the delight of their home crowd.
Despite the strong start, the Magic ended up losing the game 93-79.
In that astonishing fourth quarter, Detroit outscored Orlando 31-8 while the Magic struggled, hitting only 1 of their 20 shots, including 0 for 10 from three-point range.
Interestingly, Pistons’ star Cade Cunningham scored 19 points in the fourth quarter alone, matching the total points of the Magic for the entire second half.
Orlando’s 19 points in that half are now the lowest ever recorded in a postseason half in NBA history.
During the game, the Magic faced quite the drought, missing 23 consecutive shot attempts and finishing with 27 misses out of their last 28 attempts overall in the second half. They only succeeded with 4 out of 41 field goal tries after halftime.
Thanks to this victory, the Pistons will head into Game 7 in Detroit on Sunday.
This match-up is particularly significant for both teams: the Pistons, who had a 3-1 lead going into Game 5, have not won a playoff series since 2008, while the Magic’s last series win was back in 2010.
On a standout night, Cunningham, who had initially struggled to get going, finished with 32 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the series winner will go on to face the winner of the Cavaliers-Raptors series in the Eastern Conference semifinals beginning this week.
Following the Pistons’ win, the Raptors triumphed over the Cavaliers in overtime, with Pacers’ star Tyrese Haliburton experiencing a tough moment as RJ Barrett hit a crucial three-pointer.
This means that a Game 7 between the Cavaliers and Raptors is also scheduled for Sunday.
