The Orlando Magic defended their home floor in a pivotal Game 3.
ORLANDO — In a game that came down to the wire, The Orlando Magic on Saturday were able to outlast the Detroit Pistons in Game 3, 113-105 to go up 2-1 in their first-round playoff series. What led to their victory?
A Fight Over the Final 12 Minutes
Following the tradition inside the Kia Center of the Orlando faithful rising to their feet to cheer on the team, the Magic responded with a 9-0 run to give themselves a 17-point advantage.
However, the Pistons returned fire.
From the 08:42 mark to the 03:15 mark on the game clock, Detroit administered a 25-8 run to tie the game at 104, and a building that was once filled with jubilant cheers transitioned into concerned groans as the Magic saw their back hit the proverbial wall as they fell behind, 105-104 with less than three minutes remaining.
Then, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. responded.
It began with a 15-foot stepback shot by Wagner to retake the lead before he subsequently hit a 27-foot 3-pointer to once again make it a two-possession game.
Carter then split a pair of free throws with 01:07 remaining to extend his team’s lead to six points before Banchero hit a 25-foot three that bounced high off the back of the rim before dropping through the bottom of the night. The shot gave the Magic a 113-105 lead with 39 seconds remaining and served as the dagger.
By the final buzzer, it did not matter that the Banchero and Wagner did not have the most efficient shooting nights. When the team needed them, they rose to the occasion.
Bane Returns to Form
After Desmond Bane dropped a game-high 34 points in the Magic’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Play-In Tournament, he has since struggled offensively.
From routing the Charlotte Hornets in a do-or-die play-in showdown through the first two games against the Pistons, Bane’ numbers were as follows:
Vs Charlotte: 4-14 FG, 13 points
Vs Detroit, Game 1: 7-20, 17 points
Vs Detroit, Game 2: 2-11, 12 points
On Saturday, he broke his slump by scoring 25 points on 9-18 shooting from the field and 7-9 from 3-point range. Bane’s seven made shots from beyond the arc tied the franchise record and was the first time it had been done in over 30 years.
Battling on the Boards
An Achilles heel for the Magic in their 98-83 Game 2 loss was their inability to outwork the Pistons in the rebounding department.
In a game that was close throughout the first half but was blown open by the Pistons via a third quarter punch that saw the Magic get outscored 38-16, Detroit was able to outrebound Orlando, 57-42. The rebounding disparity helped the Pistons achieve 20 more points in the point than the Magic and 11 more second chance points.
On Saturday, they made sure to address that issue.
The Magic won the rebounding battle, 63-50 and won the battle of second chance points, 19-17. Orlando knew it had to adjust its production on the glass, and it delivered.
Carter led the way with 17 rebounds to go along with his 14 points.
Containing Cade
After allowing him to score 39 points in Game 1 and 27 points in Game 2, the Magic did not make anything easy for Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham in Game 3.
Orlando put ball pressure on Cunningham and continued to switch in ways that prohibited him from easily producing driving lanes or 3-point opportunities. By the end of the first half, Cunningham had eight points on 3-10 shooting from the field after efficiently notching double figure scoring efforts in the first halves of Game 1 and 2.
Though Cunningham had a strong fourth quarter to notch another 27-point game, he was held to 8-23 shooting from the field and 3-10 shooting from the perimeter.
Getting to the Line
During the regular season, the Magic became the team to lead the league in free throws, and it benefited them once again on Saturday.
Orlando secured 33 free throw attempts and converted 26 of them. Meanwhile, the Pistons, who ranked third in free throw attempts per game, shot 24 free throws.
The Magic will return to action for Game 4 when they host Detroit again on Monday at 8 p.m.
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