Banchero dissects the Magic's Game 5 loss, revealing how missed free throws and crucial offensive rebounds led to their defeat.
On the difference between Orlando and Detroit in Game 5:
"Free throws, offensive rebounds, and second-chance points. I would say they beat us on the margins."
On the team's struggles with those "marginal" details:
"You go up there, you want to make your free throws and they don't go in. That's on me—missing six or seven free throws. Then with the offensive rebounds, we gave them a couple to start the game. There were a couple tough bounces and a couple times where we didn't box out. We know that's what they want to do; they want to crash hard. We have to be better on the glass and on the free-throw line. We lost by seven and missed 14 free throws. That's the game."
On absorbing Detroit's punch and fighting back:
"I thought we gave ourselves a chance at the end. We didn't go away—we went down by 16 at one point and got back in it. You like to see that, but like I said, the margins are what beat us."
On the scoring duel with Cade Cunningham:
"In the heat of the moment, you're not really thinking about it; you're just thinking about getting the win. I'm sure one day we'll look back and be like, 'That was a hell of a game.' Me and him have been going at it since AAU days, so there's no surprise there that that happened."
On Detroit's desperation at home:
"They played really hard, but that’s how they always play in front of their home crowd. They brought the energy and attacked the boards. We didn't expect them to lay down, and they didn't. We gave ourselves a chance, but they just did a little more on some of the little things."
On the mental approach for Game 6:
"I don't think you can be discouraged from this performance as a team. You just have to realize where you let the game go and be better. We're going to be in front of our home crowd on Friday, so it's our turn to protect home. We've done a great job at that. They’re going to be desperate and we’re going to be desperate. It’s going to be another war and we just have to be ready for it."
On his individual scoring explosion:
"It’s pretty simple. Franz went down, so I knew I just had to be more aggressive."
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