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Om Youngmisuk
multiple authors
Orlando, Florida — with detroit pistons And orlando magic Locked in a defensive duel, Desmond Bain Came off the screen and launched a 3 from 29 feet with seven seconds left on the shot clock and less than 80 seconds left in Game 4 on Monday.
The ball bounced off the glass and went in, giving Orlando a six-point lead. Ben immediately put his hands together in prayer. This shot was the dagger Orlando needed to beat Detroit 94-88 And push the pistons to the brink of elimination.
If Detroit is to save its 60-win season, it will need some divine help. The eighth-seeded Magic, who have had a sudden turnaround in their season, lead this best-of-7 series 3-1 and are playing with a lot of confidence and physicality.
The Pistons will need to win three in a row to advance, starting Wednesday in Game 5 at home.
“Too many turnovers, brother,” Center Jalen Duren The Pistons were said to have committed 20 turnovers which led to 23 Magic points. “They’re bearing the brunt of our mistakes. The whole series, we were just shooting ourselves in the foot. We’ve got to clean it up, man.”
“I still think we’re the better team, top to bottom. But we just have to do that… we can’t keep digging ourselves into a hole. Again, we’re fighting ourselves, that team, the refs… we just have to get better.”
According to ESPN Research, the Pistons are the third team to win 60 games in the regular season, but trail 3–1 in their opening series. Each of the last two teams – 2011 San Antonio Spurs and 2007 dallas mavericks -Extended their series but lost in six matches.
“We’re going to punch down,” Detroit coach JB Bickerstaff said of the Pistons in Game 5.
pistons franchise point guard Cade CunninghamJoe, who had 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks but eight turnovers, was asked if he was surprised Detroit was on the verge of a first-round exit.
“I mean, going in [this series I’d be] Surprised,” said Cunningham, who has a combined 24 turnovers in his last three games, the most in a three-game span in the playoffs since turnovers were first officially tracked in 1977-78. “But the way we’re playing, things aren’t good enough to win games, and this league is too good.
“They’re a good team, so they’re outrebounding, outrebounding me. We haven’t hit enough shots. Our defense hasn’t held up, so it’s not shocking we’re losing games playing like that.”
Both teams struggled to make shots and shot 15-65 overall from behind the arc. The Magic and Pistons shot several airballs from 3-point range. Inside the paint, both teams were strong and played as if the series was tied.
Detroit blocked 18 shots and still lost as it shot 37.8% from the field and could not avoid turnovers. Orlando also outshot Detroit 52-49, with every rebound being crucial.
“We’ve got to take care of the basketball,” Pistone added. tobias harris Said. “We’ve got to win the rebounding battle. And we’ve just got to stay in the moment for what it is. This is playoff basketball. We’ve got to be more ready to go out there and scrape like we need to.”
“We’re a little too casual. Everyone knows that. In our locker room, we have to be better.”
Orlando threatened to run away with the win, jumping out to a 17–5 lead. However, Detroit responded with a 33–11 run, giving the Pistons a 10-point lead with 7:14 left in the second quarter. But even without playing a full quarter, the Magic led by two at halftime and led by three points late in the fourth. franz wagnerWho was sitting out of the frame due to pain in his right calf. Wagner later told reporters he planned to have an MRI on Tuesday.
Without Wagner, Benn (22 points) stepped up and scored 3 points as Detroit moved closer to elimination. As Ben ran down the floor, he looked towards the courtroom seats ja morant And jaren jackson jr., his ex memphis grizzlies Teammates who came to support him smiled and celebrated the big shot.
On November 10, Ben made a 3-pointer in a win over Portland. Toumani Camera For the first buzzer-beater of his career. This helped lead to a run to the NBA Cup Semifinals in December.
However, the Magic struggled after this due to injuries and inconsistency. But since defeating Charlotte in the final play-in game in Orlando on April 17, the Magic have played like the team that many predicted would be a force in the East. They are tough and physical on defense, opportunistic on offense, confident and possessive, and even have lucky shot-making, such as Baynes’ banked 3 and paolo bancheroLate 3 that bounced high to the rim and inside during the Magic’s 113-105 Game 3 win.
It may take even longer to eliminate the Pistons in Detroit.
“This is a team that has won 60 games,” Benn said. “I’m sure they won’t blink about being able to win three games in a row. They did that several times during the regular season. We have to be ready to play. I’m excited for the challenge.”
