AUBURN HILLS, Mich. _ The Orlando Magic have improved since the start of the season.
Want proof?
Compare what happened Sunday night to what happened on Oct. 28.
About five weeks after the Detroit Pistons humiliated them, the Magic exacted some revenge Sunday, beating the Pistons 98-92 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Serge Ibaka scored 21 points, including a wide-open 3 from the top of the arc that gave Orlando a 90-80 lead with 5:32 to play. A short while later, Ibaka blocked a close-range shot by Pistons center Andre Drummond.
Ibaka added seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and four blocks.
Nikola Vucevic scored 16 points and collected eight rebounds off the bench for Orlando.
The Magic took a 95-82 lead with 3:35 to go, prompting many fans within the arena to file to the exits.
But the Pistons scored eight consecutive points, with a 3-pointer by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope cutting the deficit to 95-90 with 40 seconds to go. The Pistons' run was reminiscent of the Magic's fourth-quarter collapse several nights earlier in Memphis, Tenn.
But Jeff Green scored on a turnaround, fadeaway jumper with 20.3 seconds remaining.
Green finished with 14 points, but those two points were his most important.
With the victory, the Magic improved to 3-1 on their current road trip.
On Oct. 28, in their second game of the season, the Magic lost to the Pistons 108-82. Detroit dominated Orlando in every area that night: physicality, shooting and cohesion. When the Pistons started to roll, the Magic simply could not stop the momentum.
Entering Sunday, the Magic had lost seven consecutive games to Stan Van Gundy's Pistons, with the losses coming by an average margin of 17 points per game.
The narrative changed Sunday.
The Magic absorbed a punch. Then, they punched right back.
The Pistons took a 23-14 lead with several minutes left in the first quarter, but the Magic responded.
Former Piston Jodie Meeks gave the Magic a significant boost when Frank Vogel put him into the game in the second quarter. Meeks made his first three shots. He also had one steal, which started a fast break that ended with a dunk by Bismack Biyombo.
Orlando ended the second quarter on a 10-2 run, receiving four points apiece by Ibaka and Green and a jumper by Vucevic.
The Magic made 16 of their 22 shots in the second quarter.
The outburst put the Magic ahead 58-50 at halftime.
Detroit (11-11) threatened to take control early in the third quarter, but Orlando (9-12) countered again.
The Pistons cut the deficit to 67-64, but the Magic went on a run. Vucevic hit a turnaround, fadeaway jumper over Drummond and a jumper from the right elbow. Magic point guard D.J. Augustin added a 3-pointer, and Ibaka sank a jumper from the foul line.
Those scores extended Orlando's lead to 76-65 and gave the Magic their largest lead.
The Pistons narrowed that lead late in the third quarter, pulling within 78-73 to start the fourth quarter.
But the Magic had an answer for every Pistons run.
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