The Detroit Pistons accomplished their largest postseason comeback victory with tonight’s 93-79 win over the Orlando Magic
Through two quarters against the Orlando Magic on Friday night, the Detroit Pistons looked like a shell of the 60-win squad that earned the Eastern Conference’s top seed entering the playoffs. At that point, the Magic held a 60-38 lead entering halftime, and Orlando looked to be on the verge of advancing to the second round before a Pistons comeback in the second half changed the landscape of the entire series.
During the break, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff reminded his group that their bread and butter comes primarily on the defensive end and that they can generate easier baskets if they create some turnovers on defense. Using that as their focus, Detroit held the Magic to just 19 points during the second half in a suffocating defensive display that allowed for the Pistons to complete their largest comeback victory in postseason franchise history with a 93-79 win to force game seven.
“It was the pressure,” Bickerstaff said of what swung the game in Detroit’s favor. “We changed the amount of pressure that we were putting at the point-of-attack, we changed how active we were on the ball, how physical we were on the ball. That’s when we’re at our best, so we’ve got to continue to do that.”
During game six, Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham took it upon himself to spark some life into Detroit during the second half with multiple forced turnovers, and the All-Star finished the double-digit win with four steals and one block. Ausar Thompson, on the other hand, finished with four blocks and one steal for the Pistons in another all-around, comprehensive defensive effort against Orlando in elimination game.
From a scoring standpoint, Cunningham did the majority of his damage in the fourth quarter, putting up 20 points amid a 32-point effort that came with 10 rebounds for the first Pistons’ 30/10 game in the playoffs since Isiah Thomas.
“In adverse situations, you’ve got two options: you fight or you run," Bickerstaff said. "The nature of this group is that they fight. That’s why they continue to fight through these things because they don’t get down. They don’t put their heads down. There is no woe is me. There is no selfish, it’s not going my way. It’s what can I do to help the team? And time and time again, that’s what they’ve done.”
Rather than panicking once his team fell into a double-digit deficit against the Magic, Bickerstaff chose to double down on the principles and philosophies that carried the Pistons to this position, which means an ample amount of defensive pressure. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Magic had missed 22 consecutive field goal attempts, and that offensive inefficiency plagued Orlando in what was a deflating second half effort for the home squad.
“Until it’s over, for us it ain’t over,” Bickerstaff said. “They just continue to impress me.”
Like he’s done for much of this first round series, Tobias Harris had another strong contribution with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and his production was pivotal considering Jalen Duren had another underwhelming output with just eight points and nine boards in Detroit’s miraculous victory. For JD, who finished 2nd in the Most Improved Player award voting, performances like tonight have occurred too frequently for the Pistons' liking, but Detroit found a way to win without his usual 20-point offering.
With the series heading to an all important seventh game, the Pistons have a day off before hosting the Magic for the final installment of their first round matchup on Sunday, May 3.
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