Somehow, someway, the Pistons live to play another day.
Top-seeded Detroit dug itself into a 3–1 hole against the No. 8 seed Magic, and then dug itself all the way out to force a Game 7 at Little Caesars Arena for a chance to avoid the rare first-round upset for a No. 1 seed.
In Game 5, the Pistons’ first game facing elimination, star guard Cade Cunningham and Magic star Paolo Banchero exchanged blows, scoring 45 points apiece, but the Pistons got the best of Orlando to send the series back to Florida. The Pistons faced elimination yet again in Friday night's Game 6 and it looked like the Magic would wrap up the series as they took an enormous 22-point lead into halftime.
What happened next was an incredible anomaly. The Magic completely imploded in the second half, suffering the type of scoring drought that makes you wonder if there's something wrong with the rim they were shooting on. Orlando shot 4-for-37 from the field and scored only 19 points in the final 24 minutes of the game for what resulted in a shocking 93–79 win for the Pistons.
Detroit was still behind by nine points entering the fourth quarter, but the Magic couldn't shake their shooting woes to put the game and the series away. Orlando couldn't buy a bucket, with a shocking 1-for-20 shooting performance in the fourth. The Magic would have been blanked from the field if it wasn't for a Banchero dunk with 2:24 left in the game—and by that point the Pistons already held a 12-point lead. It was an epic collapse, going down as the largest halftime deficit erased in an elimination game.
Play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan struggled to comprehend what he was seeing on the court.
Desmond Band misses two straight 3s, and the Magic have now missed 17 consecutive field goal attempts (!!!) pic.twitter.com/FJK8GNcEU7
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 2, 2026
Pistons’ ‘Never say die’ attitude carries the comeback
While the Magic’s nonexistent shooting in the second half will headline the night, it was also an impressive defensive performance from Detroit who has struggled for the great majority of the series after it won an Eastern Conference-best 60 games this season. Despite trailing big, they never lost focus—and we saw just last night how out of hand things can get in a blowout if a team gives up.
“Never say die. Simple as that. Detroit grit—that’s what we’ve been talking about all year,” Cunningham said postgame to Prime Video's Allie Clifton. “That’s a great job of staying with it. Keep fighting.
“We dug ourselves in a deep hole. It’s on us to climb all the way out. It’s going to take everything. It’ll take putting your body on the line and digging deep.”
Cunningham finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and four steals as he drove Detroit's offense to take control late in the game. Tobias Harris put up 22 points, and sharpshooter Duncan Robinson added 14 points and four three-pointers. Banchero was a big part of Orlando's scoreless drought. He finished the game with 17 points and shot just 4-for-20 from the field and 0-for-9 from three. Jalen Suggs had a disappointing 1-for-10 night, while Desmond Bane went 7-for-18 from the floor.
Now, the series heads back to Detroit for Game 7 where the Pistons somehow have a chance to avoid an embarrassing first-round exit while the Magic hope to not let their 3–1 lead slip away. The momentum is firmly on Detroit's side now with two straight wins and one incredible comeback in Friday's Game 6. We'll see if it stays that way in the decider on Sunday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Magic's Dreadful Shooting Woes Spark Pistons' Historic Comeback to Force Game 7.
