Cade Cunningham on Orlando’s four offensive rebounds in the final seconds in Friday’s loss.
Cade Cunningham on Orlando’s four offensive rebounds in the final seconds in Friday’s loss.
Detroit — Duncan Robinson hit a 3-point shot with just over four minutes remaining, bringing the Detroit Pistons within three points at 100-97. Following a strong defensive possession, Cade Cunningham scored a 3-pointer in transition, tying the game at 100 with 4:10 left in the period against the Orlando Magic.
Robinson and Cunningham’s consecutive 3-pointers sparked a 10-0 run, revitalizing the Pistons in a game where they had trailed for most of the night. Even when the Pistons found themselves down by four points, Tobias Harris made a 3-pointer to bring Detroit within one point (110-109) with a minute left.
However, the Pistons’ efforts weren’t enough, as they fell 112-109 at Little Caesars Arena Friday night. With the defeat, the Pistons have been eliminated from the Emirates NBA Cup tournament. They have also dropped their second consecutive game since embarking on a 13-game winning streak. The Pistons are now 15-4 overall.
“That’s why these games hurt, because they do have that resiliency,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They do care, they are committed and they laid it all out there tonight and tried their best. But just again, a few possessions here, a few plays there, ended up costing us in the long run.”
Cunningham led the way with his second triple-double of the season with 39 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Harris added 16 points and five rebounds.
BOX SCORE: Magic 112, Pistons 109
The Pistons gained momentum late, but it came down to rebounding. Despite coming into the night as the ninth-best defensive rebounding team in the league — averaging 32.9 boards — the Pistons gave up four offensive rebounds to the Magic during the final 41 seconds.
“We played good defense on the ball, but they had us scrambling around a lot,” Cunningham said. “But when shooting deep 3s, the ball can bounce anywhere. Maybe a few of them didn’t bounce our way, but we all like to believe we should have boxed out to get that ball. It’s tough because that’s our identity. It’s what we hang our hat on.”
In their first 17 games, the Detroit Pistons have embraced their season motto, “control the chaos,” and made significant strides toward achieving it. But against the Magic, the Pistons struggled to manage their emotions. The night ended with three technical fouls, one of which was issued to Cunningham. Bickerstaff had to intervene and restrain the All-NBA guard late in the third quarter due to his outburst directed at a referee.
“It was frustrating, the lack of consistency on both ends of the floor,” Bickerstaff said. “I’m not saying we were reffed differently than they were, but there was no balance and flow to the game.”
Jalen Duren added 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, while Robinson added nine. Desmond Bane led Orlando with 37 points and eight rebounds, while Franz Wagner added 21 points.
“The Magic likes to load up. They like to shift and have everybody in helping, so the best way to play against them is to move the ball and that’s on us,” Cunningham said. “Coach said it a thousand times, get the ball moving. I think there’s a lot of different reasons why maybe that happened, but we just didn’t execute the game plan.”
Observations and notes
▶ Turnovers played a significant role in the loss: Improvements in the turnover department have contributed significantly to the Pistons’ strong start this season.
Over the last 14 games, the team averaged 14.5 turnovers. However, during their matchup against the Magic, the Pistons struggled once again, heading into halftime down 59-58. They committed 15 turnovers in the first two quarters, which allowed Orlando to score 22 points off those mistakes. By the end of the night, the Pistons came just two turnovers shy of matching their season high of 26.
“Twenty-four turnovers are hard to overcome,” Bickerstaff said. “The time that they came and how they were coming led to one of the best fastbreak teams in our league. That’s hard to overcome.”
▶ Ivey makes his first LCA appearance since injury: Jaden Ivey appeared in his fourth game since returning from injury. However, the game against the Magic also marked his first game at LCA since he broke his left fibula on Jan. 1 against the same team. Ivey received a loud ovation from the fans. He played 10 minutes, finishing with three points.
The game against the Magic also marked the Pistons’ first back-to-back scenario with Ivey. During his pre-game availability, Bickerstaff revealed that the team will “see” about him playing Saturday night against the Miami Heat.
coty.davis@detroitnews.com
@cotydavis_24
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