After being on the cusp of advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Orlando Magic are heading home.
The Orlando Magic watched their season come to an end on Sunday after falling to the Detroit Pistons in Game 7, 116-94.
Sunday was the climactic point in the Magic squandering a 3-1 lead. They were on the cusp of winning a playoff series for the first time in 16 years. Instead, the season is over. What led to it?
Paolo Takes Control
After matching Cade Cunningham’s 45 points in a Game 5 duel that is etched in NBA postseason lore, Paolo Banchero came back to Little Caesar’s Arena and did his best to put the Magic on his back.
In the first quarter, Banchero scored the first 11 points for his team by hitting his first four shots. In the second quarter, he added 12 more points to lead Orlando with 23 by half time.
By the end of the third quarter, Banchero had 32 points on 12-22 shooting from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range, the same point total that the rest of the Magic had combined for. At the end of the game, he had notched 38 of his team's 94 points.
Cold Shooting Spells the End
While the Magic did not endure the type of disastrous streak of missed shots that they did in Game 6, they did little to help support the effort of Banchero.
While Banchero continued to score, the offensive shortcomings of his teammates became much more noticeable.
Without Franz Wagner on the floor due to a calf strain, the onus for players like Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black to step up and contribute, and neither could. After shooting 1-10 from the field and scoring seven points in Game 6, Suggs continued to struggle in Game 7 to the tune of six points on 2-9 shooting from the field and 0-4 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Black only managed to hit four of his 12 shot attempts for 11 points.
Pistons Take Over
After the Magic held a slight 22-20 advantage after the first quarter, Detroit began ramping things up in the second quarter and, by the end of it, had outscored Orlando, 40-27 to carry a 60-49 lead into halftime.
By the second half, the Pistons, led by Cunningham, began to break things open.
In the third quarter, Cunningham scored 11 of his 32 points to keep the Pistons on top and extend their lead to 83-64 coming into the final period of play. At the start of the fourth, Detroit had outscored the Magic, 63-42 since the second quarter.
After the Boston Celtics blew a 3-1 lead to the Philadelphia 76ers by losing, 109-100 in Game 7 on Saturday, the Magic became the second team to do so in the Eastern Conference playoff slate.
The season that had looked like it was turning around when it mattered most for Orlando ended in tumultuous and disheartening fashion. Now, the Magic enter the summer with several decisions to make regarding the future of the franchise.
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