Paolo Banchero had 23 points and nine rebounds as the visiting Orlando Magic upset the top-seeded Detroit Pistons, 112-101, in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference series on Sunday.
The visiting Magic never trailed as every starter scored at least 16 points. Franz Wagner supplied 19 points, five rebounds and four assists while Wendell Carter Jr. and Desmond Bane each contributed 17 points and five assists. Jalen Suggs had 16 points, four assists and three steals.
The Pistons have lost 11 straight playoff home games dating back to the 2008 Eastern Conference finals.
Cade Cunningham carried Detroit with 39 points. Tobias Harris was the only other Piston in double figures with 17 points. All-Star Jalen Duren only attempted four shots in 33 minutes while being held to eight points and seven rebounds. The Magic shot 48.9% from the field while limiting the Pistons to 40.3% shooting.
Orlando reached the first round by defeating Charlotte in the play-in tournament on Friday and came out on fire.
The Magic built an 18-5 lead less than five minutes into the game. Detroit closed the gap to two late in the quarter, but Orlando responded with a 6-0 spurt. The Magic held the lead throughout the second quarter and clung to a 55-51 advantage at halftime.
Orlando opened the second half with an 8-1 run. Detroit responded with a 13-2 run, capped by a Cunningham 3-pointer, to make it 65-65 at the 7:04 mark.
The Magic never allowed the Pistons to pull even again. Orlando answered with a 14-3 run sparked by reserve guard Anthony Black, who had five points and two assists during that stretch. Detroit was down by seven, 81-74, entering the fourth.
The Magic made their first seven field goal attempts in the quarter but still couldn’t quite pull away. The lead was still seven with 3:45 remaining.
Wagner then made a layup and a free throw to make it 106-96. Suggs scored on an alley-oop with 2:13 remaining and the Pistons never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
