Cade Cunningham poured in 30 points and handed out 10 assists as the host Detroit Pistons pulled away from the Orlando Magic, 135-116, on Wednesday night.
Cunningham scored 19 of his points in the second half during the Pistons’ fourth victory in their last five games. Tobias Harris had 23 points, while Jalen Duren powered for 21 points and 12 rebounds. Duncan Robinson tossed in 15 points and Ausar Thompson notched a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Franz Wagner had 22 points with seven rebounds but the star forward duo missed 11 of 28 free-throw attempts in Orlando’s fourth straight loss. Tristan da Silva had 15 points and Desmond Bane added 12.
The Magic led virtually the entire first half but a Thompson 3-pointer in the final minute gave Detroit a 65-64 halftime edge. The Pistons outscored the Magic 36-28 in the second quarter.
Harris led three Detroit players in double figures with 13 points at the half. Wagner paced Orlando with 14 points.
Neither team had a lead of more than three points in the opening minutes of the second half until Cunningham’s layup put Detroit up 77-73.
That was part of a 14-1 Pistons run, which gave the home team an 84-74 lead. Duren had five points and an assist during that span and Harris capped it with a dunk.
A 12-4 Pistons run later in the quarter pushed the lead to 98-82. Robinson scored five points during that stretch. Orlando finished the quarter with a 10-3 spurt to pull within nine points.
A dominant stretch by Cunningham early in the fourth allowed Detroit to gain a comfortable lead. He had a pair of three-point plays in a 17-second span, then grabbed a defensive rebound and scored again for a 114-97 lead. Javonte Green’s 3-pointer following a Magic timeout gave the Pistons a 20-point cushion.
Orlando could not mount a serious comeback from that deficit.
–Field Level Media
