The top-seeded Detroit Pistons were dead in the water on Friday night. Trailing 3-2 in their first-round series vs. the Orlando Magic, they were down 22 points at halftime and looked well on their way to a first-round elimination. Not so fast. Not only did the Pistons rally to win Game 6, but they did so by a score of 93-79. Going from down 22 to a 14-point win is wild. Credit the Pistons for the largest comeback win in franchise history, but a 36-point swing over a single half only happens if both teams cooperate. The Magic, who once led this series 3-1, more than did their part by going in the absolute tank, coughing up the biggest second-half lead in a potential clinching game in history. They scored a truly pathetic 19 points in the second half. That is the lowest single-half output in a playoff game in the shot clock era (since 1955). Just look at these laughable numbers. Orlando missed 27 of its last 28 shots.That included 23 straight misses, the most in a playoff game this century.Orlando went 4 for 37 in the second half (2 of 18 from 3).That 10.8% shooting clip is the worst mark in a playoff half in the play-by-play era (since 1997).Orlando’s 79 points are the fewest in history for a team that scored 60-plus points in the first half.The fourth quarter was a total embarrassment. The Magic scored eight points. Eight! They shot 1 for 20 and missed all 10 of their 3s. During that aforementioned run of 23 straight misses, 45 minutes went by. Yes, you read that correctly.
From Anthony Black’s 3-pointer with 4:14 to play in the third quarter to Paolo Banchero’s dunk with 2:24 to play in the fourth, 45 real-time minutes passed.
That is absolutely pathetic, but I will say, if any team is capable of going this cold for this long, the Magic fit the bill. There are times when nobody on that team can throw a fishhook in the ocean. Their offense is equal parts paint-drying competition and demolition derby. They are a collection of bad shooters who take bad shots. But even for a team that can be as offensively inept as the Magic, to be outscored 24-19 over a second half by a single opposing player is pathetic. Indeed, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham scored as many points by himself in the fourth quarter alone as the Magic did as a team over the final 24 minutes. You can’t make that up.
Again, I do want to credit the Pistons for sticking with this game. They…
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2026-05-02 04:46:21
