Cade Cunningham scored 32 points and added 12 assists, and Tobias Harris contributed 30 points and nine rebounds to lead the host Detroit Pistons to a 116-94 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Daniss Jenkins came off the bench to score 16 points and Jalen Duren had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the top-seeded Pistons, who won the final three games of the series to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Detroit is the 15th team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 deficit.
Paolo Banchero scored a game-high 38 points and added nine rebounds and five blocked shots, while Desmond Bane contributed 16 points for the Magic, who blew a 3-1 first-round series lead to Detroit for the second time, with the previous collapse coming in 2003.
Detroit advances to the Eastern Conference semifinals and will host fourth-seeded Cleveland beginning Tuesday.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff never wavered in his faith in his upstart club.
“I mean, it’s expected, and that’s the amount of belief that we have in this group,” he said. “This is a special group, and can’t count us out, no matter the circumstances, no matter the situation.
I like our chances to fight our way back. I thought we did a hell of a job of that, obviously, in this series.”
The Pistons scored 11 of the first 13 points of the third quarter, six coming from Cunningham, to take control and build a 71-51 lead. Orlando responded with a 7-0 run to cut it to 13, but Detroit pushed the advantage back to as many as 20 in the quarter.
Detroit built a 25-point lead with just more than eight minutes remaining in the game. The Magic responded with a 15-4 run to pull within 100-86 with 4:22 left, but the Pistons scored 16 of the final 24 points to secure the win.
Harris knocked down 11 of 18 shots from the floor and 5 of 7 from long range. In his 17th NBA season, Harris’ postseason play matched his maturity and leadership for the youthful Pistons.
“I think obviously, when we got down to 3-1 we looked at ourselves and just to see if we were going to step up to the moment,” said Harris. “We did a great job blocking out the noise and really just staying connected, understanding what our main goal was, really just taking one game at a time, in each and every game, taking one moment at a time every quarter, every possession.
“So I’m extremely proud of this group’s resilience all year long.”
Defense ruled a tightly played first quarter, with neither side able to seize control. The teams traded the lead five times and were tied on three occasions, as physical play and contested shots kept scoring in check. Orlando led, 22-20, after 12 minutes.
There were seven more lead changes in the second quarter before the Pistons closed the half on a 20-6 run to take a 60-49 lead. Detroit erupted for 40 points in the period, fueled by 17 from Harris and 10 from Cunningham, while Banchero led Orlando with 23 points in the half.
Detroit shot the ball well on all three levels, hitting 51.2% from the floor (41 of 80) 48.5% (16 of 33) and 81.8% (18 of 22) from the free throw line.
Banchero and Bane converted 7 of 12 from behind the arc for the Magic, but the rest of the team misfired on 15 of 18 attempts.
“It’s frustrating being in the same spot three years in a row and getting the same result,” said Banchero.
“We got to be better, and it doesn’t start in April when the playoffs start. It starts in September, October, when we get everybody in the building. You build habits. You create an environment where losing isn’t acceptable. Losing in the first round is not acceptable. It’s not good enough, and that should be the attitude.”
Cunningham and Harris became the first Detroit teammates to score 30 points in a playoff game since Bob Lanier (33) and Howard Porter (30) against the Golden State Warriors on April 17, 1977.
“To do what we did this series only made us better for the next one,” said Bickerstaff. “And I know a lot of people would have liked it to just be easier, but I think it was great for our guys to go through what they went through, to understand what it looks like and where they have to be in order to get it done. We understand that with it now we take that with us to the second round.”
–Field Level Media
