The Detroit Pistons tied their first round series against the Orlando Magic at one game piece with a 98-83 victory on Wednesday night
After suffering a double-digit loss in their playoff opener on Sunday, the Detroit Pistons knew that they needed to return to their defensive-minded ways in order to climb back into the first round series with the Orlando Magic.
Fortunately, the Pistons saved a turnover-packed third quarter as the decisive opportunity to regain momentum against the Magic in what turned out to be a 98-83 win for Detroit in game two.
During the second game of the series, the Pistons and Magic battled to a deadlock at 46 points apiece heading into halftime on Wednesday night. Detroit point guard Cade Cunningham was still hitting shots with 15 points in the first half, but the Pistons still lacked the intensity that propelled the squad to the top seed in the East during the regular season. Jalen Duren had just five points at the break, and the Pistons were in search of an opportunity to turn the tide.
After making some key adjustments at halftime, Detroit looked reenergized and began to consistently execute their offense with their starting five making plays that allowed the Pistons to gradually pull away.
“We just played defense,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said about what changed after halftime. “It’s that simple. We played defense at the level we’re capable of and it triggers everything for us. We can be an elite defensive team, a disruptive defensive team that pushes us and gets us easy baskets, and that’s what we did.”
With Cunningham, Duren, Tobias Harris, Ausar Thompson and Duncan Robinson all involved offensively, the Pistons went on a 30-4 run to open the third quarter, and that dominant stretch was enough for Detroit to coast to a comfortable 15-point win to tie the series at one game apiece.
Cunningham finished with 27 points, 11 assists and six rebounds on the night, but the All-Star point guard committed seven costly turnovers throughout the contest. The Magic defense continued to pick up the fifth-year floor general early while Detroit set up their offense, and the on-ball pressure from Orlando created a slew of precarious traps that Cunningham had to work his way out of. The same was true during Cade's 39-point effort in game one.
“He’s him, and he understands that," Bickerstaff said. "To have the size, agility, touch, speed, patience that he has, he’s a matchup nightmare for people that takes multiple bodies to stop him and even that, because he can get to his spot and shoot his middy, it’s hard to get to him. So, he’s embraced the moment, and he’s leading us the way he needs to.”
As for Duren, the Pistons’ big man had a slightly more productive effort with 11 points and nine rebounds than he did in game one, but the All-Star had another slow night at the office. Wendell Carter Jr. battled with Duren in the post and made life difficult for the fourth-year center in another performance that fell below the 20-and-10 standard which he set during the regular season.
From a team perspective, the Pistons regained control of the boards in game two with a 15-rebound advantage after being outworked on the glass on Sunday. Similarly, the Pistons reasserted themselves down low with more high percentage shots tonight, which resulted in Detroit staking out a 20-point edge in paint production. All season long, these categories were influential to the Pistons’ 60 wins prior to the playoffs, so it was important for Detroit to get back to the blueprint that they’d found so successful up until now.
With the series gridlocked at 1-1, the Pistons have two days off before game three will take place down in Orlando on Saturday, April 25 at 1 pm.
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