DETROIT — Cade Cunningham drew the Orlando Magic defense into the paint on a drive before he found Daniss Jenkins alone in the right corner for a 3-pointer that put the Detroit Pistons up by 23 points.
With 9:19 remaining in Game 7, the home fans at Little Caesars Arena exploded. They had been waiting nearly two decades to celebrate a Pistons postseason series victory, and cheered as top-seeded Detroit routed the Magic 116-94 to complete a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.
The Pistons advanced to the East semifinals for the first time since 2008 and did so in dramatic fashion. The East’s best team was on the ropes, needing not only to win three straight games but also overcome a 24-point deficit in the second half of Game 6.
“I mean, to be honest with you, I never doubted that we were going to win this series,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “And that’s the truth of the matter.”
This is the second time in franchise history that the Pistons overcame a 3-1 deficit, having come from behind to beat the Magic in 2003 as well.
This season’s 60-win Pistons survived thanks to Cunningham’s brilliance. The fifth-year guard was sensational in staving off elimination. He scored 32 points Sunday for the second straight game, after setting a franchise playoff record by scoring 45 points in the Pistons’ Game 5 win.
Cunningham also had 12 assists, becoming the seventh player in NBA history with at least 30 points and 10 assists in a Game 7.
“Credit to [the Magic], they pushed us,” Cunningham said. “They really made us take a look in the mirror. I think we got a lot better from this series. I got a lot better. I learned a lot about myself, learned a lot about the team. So, I think this series really is going to set us up for our next series, and we’ll be a lot better for it.”
Cunningham had some much-needed help from Tobias Harris, who had 30 points and nine rebounds. All-Star big man Jalen Duren saved his best game of the series for Game 7 with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
The Pistons never doubted their identity and stuck with their “dawg” mentality, especially when things were looking bleak.
“I know who I am, I know who the team is,” Duren said. “Outside noise is whatever it is. In our locker room, we know who we are — as a team, as a group, as an organization. We don’t take this ‘dawg’ s— lightly. We really feel like we’re dawgs. We feel like when our back is against the wall, the whole world counts us out, that now it’s time to go. Now, it’s time to keep swinging. I never doubted anything. I never doubted the guys.”
The Magic came out looking to rebound from their Game 6 meltdown, during which they missed a playoff-record 23 consecutive shots. Paolo Banchero scored Orlando’s first 11 points and finished with 38 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
But he didn’t have enough help. After the score was tied 45-45 late in the second quarter, the Pistons went on a 26-6 run.
Desmond Bane, who was acquired from Memphis for four first-round picks and one pick swap in the offseason to provide Orlando with much-needed scoring and outside shooting, hit five shots and finished with 16 points. Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 points, and Anthony Black added 11.
The Magic never overcame the loss of Franz Wagner, who missed the last three games because of a right calf strain that left him in a walking boot. Wagner averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals. His defense on Cunningham was invaluable, as the Pistons’ star scored a total of 17 points, shot 6 for 24 — including just 3 of 16 from behind the arc — and had six turnovers when Wagner was the primary defender on him, according to ESPN’s tracking.
“For sure, when one of your best players goes down, it definitely changes a lot,” Carter said. “When he went down, it’s tough for sure. But we still gave ourselves a chance with him being out.
“We just drank the Kool-Aid [up 3-1]. We just … it was right there.”
Wagner watched from the bench when five Orlando defenders gravitated toward Cunningham before Jenkins buried that 3 and left his shooting hand in the air as the Magic called timeout.
The Detroit celebration was on, a party that nearly didn’t take place after the Pistons were just 23 minutes from being eliminated in Game 6.
Instead, Detroit’s impressive season continues against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round.
“We had a great regular season,” Cunningham said. “We built a lot of momentum going into this playoffs, and to lose in the first round would have really stung. I think it would have stung the city. The city has gotten more and more excited about this team, and we feel the love. So, we wanted to perform and to figure it out and to come back from 3-1, odds against us, and to come back and win it at home feels good. It feels really good. And we’re excited for what’s to come.”
