Beede's Breakdown: Magic falter in Game 2 as Pistons tie series at 1-1

DETROIT - After dropping Game 1 inside Little Caesars Arena over the weekend, the Pistons made it clear they were going to play with a higher level of physicality against the Magic during Game 2.

And that promise was kept from the jump Wednesday night.

In a contest that at times felt like a slugfest, Detroit threw the first punch and kept throwing haymakers the direction of Orlando until the very end while playing in front of a rowdy home crowd on ESPN.

Behind 27 points from NBA MVP candidate and Montverde Academy product Cade Cunningham, the Pistons used a big third quarter to take control of Game 2, record a 98-83 victory and tie the best-of-seven first-round series at 1-1.

“They came out and added a little bit of a level of aggression,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said when asked what changed in the second half that saw Detroit outscore Orlando 52-37. “They started picking up some heat, turned us over a couple of times and we missed a few shots at the rim, and that momentum just changed the game.”

Jalen Suggs (19 points), Paolo Banchero (18), Franz Wagner (12) and Desmond Bane (12) combined for 61 points but the Magic were far from efficient when they shot 33% from the floor on a night that saw Detroit make nearly half their shots (46%).

Neither side took care of the ball when the Pistons scored 18 points off 19 Orlando turnovers and the Magic notched 19 points off 23 takeaways.

After Detroit won its first home game in the playoffs since 2008 on Wednesday, the split series shifts back to Orlando for a crucial Game 3 on Saturday afternoon inside Kia Center.

“We did our job getting one here on the road and our defense has been good (and) really solid” Banchero said when asked what he takes away from the first two games. “The one thing to take away back home is just that we can’t go through droughts like that and can’t let them go on runs like that unanswered. I think we’ll learn from it.”

Third-quarter swing

The Magic and Pistons were tied at 46 heading into halftime but that didn’t last long.

Detroit scored the first 11 points of the third quarter and opened the second half on an 30-3 run. The Pistons opened the first five minutes of the second half by forcing three Magic turnovers and hitting eight of their first 10 shots.

“I think we let them stay in it for too long, and it finally erupted,” Suggs said about Detroit’s third-quarter run.

For the entire third, the Pistons shot 14 for 23 from the floor (60.9%) and held the Magic to just 5 for 17 shooting (29.4%) on the other end.

Ultimately, Detroit outscored Orlando 38-16 in the third quarter and led by 22 points entering the fourth. Although the Magic outscored the Pistons 21-14 in the fourth, the damage had already been done.

“We just got a little disorganized offensively,” Banchero said about the third quarter. “And they started to try to speed us up with ball pressure, not letting us get into what we were trying to get to (on offense). But I think it was more so us not being on the same page to start the quarter and they just took full advantage.”

Paint points

The Magic outscored Detroit 54-34 in the paint during Game 1 but they found it much more difficult to have success near the rim Wednesday.

Detroit blocked four shots in the first five minutes of the game and ended with 11 total. Meanwhile, Orlando offered Detroit little to no resistance in the paint.

After Detroit outscored the Magic 32-18 in the paint following two quarters of action, the Pistons finished with a 54-34 advantage in the paint for the entire night.

“We had some great looks in that third quarter and got downhill,” Mosley said. “They did a hell of a job at the rim, trying to keep us out of there. … You’ve got to give them credit for how they responded to the last game.”

Free points

Detroit (38 attempts) shot 19 more free throws than Orlando (19) in Game 1 on Sunday, but that completely flipped Wednesday.

In the first half alone, the Magic attempted 21 free throws, but they missed seven in that span. Orlando’s struggles at the free-throw line continued throughout the night when it ended 23 for 32 at the line.

Meanwhile, the Pistons hardly got to the line, at least to start. Detroit shot 3 for 8 before the break but were 7 for 9 at the free-throw line in the third quarter alone.

Detroit finished 14 for 24 at the free-throw line.

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 10:28 PM.