The Detroit Pistons were able to even up their first round series with the Orlando Magic thanks to a 98-83 win on Wednesday
During the Detroit Pistons’ 98-83 victory over the Orlando Magic in game two of their first round series on Wednesday, the top seed in the East had their back against the wall when halftime rolled around. At that moment, the Pistons were already down 0-1 in the series, and their experience against the Magic was not coming as easily as projected with the score tied at 46 apiece entering the break.
From there, a fiery speech from Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff helped kick Detroit into gear, and the home squad responded with an enthralling 30-3 run to start the third quarter. Bickerstaff goaded that emphatic response, but fifth-year point guard Cade Cunningham played a pivotal role in his team’s bounce-back win with 27 points and 11 assists on the night.
In a series that’s already had a few twists and turns, the Pistons grabbed hold of game two shortly after halftime in a way that stood out to veteran forward Tobias Harris.
“I think we just embraced an environment and truthfully just took advantage of the moment,” Harris said after the game. “We knew that first half wasn’t to our standards of playing and we had to really figure out defensively how we were going to impact the game and I thought we came out with the type of energy and the type of effort that we needed on the defensive end and offensively we were able to find the gaps that we needed to make the right plays. I thought we got more ball movement, more body movement, and that just led to us going on that run and obviously as you know when we’re able to get stops and get out in transition, that’s when we’re at our best and I thought we did a great job of that in the third.”
Adding to Cunningham’s double-double, Harris lodged 16 points and 11 rebounds against Orlando on Wednesday after his strong showing to start the series in game one. As a 15-year vet, Harris knows that his effort needs to remain consistent to help the Pistons find a semblance of stability amid the rigors of a difficult postseason series.
“Like we said, it’s a game-by-game thing,” Harris said. “It’s a series, and we were able to respond. We’ve got to do the same thing on the road and be at our best.”
While the Pistons were able to reassert themselves as a playoff threat by tying the series at 1-1, Detroit also snapped an 11-game winless streak at home during the postseason that dated back to 2008. So, the Pistons’ win two days ago served two purposes with the matchup headed back down to Orlando for games three and four.
“It means a lot,” Harris said of snapping the playoff losing streak. “Obviously, we’ve heard it. Heard it last year, but good win for us. Game three is the game that we have to be ready for. Obviously, it’s great for our fans to be able to be in our arena and give us that support. They’re huge for us, been huge for us all season long. To get a victory for them is awesome, but now we’ve got to go on the road and handle our business.”
Now that the Pistons have exercised the postseason demons at home, the team will remain focused on outdoing their first round exit from last season. The next installment in the first round Eastern Conference series is slated for Saturday, April 25 at 1 pm.
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