Magic play up to potential, stun Pistons in Game 1 upset

Detroit– jalen suggs stuck on Cade Cunningham and picked up a pass from tobias harris Before taking it to the court for a powerful two-handed dunk, which was punctuated by a scream.

Less than four minutes left in Game 1 orlando magic let it happen detroit pistons Know that they were not afraid of the Eastern Conference’s top seed and that they were going to give the Pistons a taste of what they do to their opponents.

Suggs sets the tone by flying all over the court and scoring 11 points in the first quarter, Magic come to Detroit and stun Pistons 112-101 To take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.

“I think everybody knows we’ve got a really talented team,” he said franz wagnerWho scored 11 of his 19 points to hold off a Pistons charge late in the fourth quarter. “Obviously we didn’t have the regular season we wanted, but that’s our goal. And I think we showed today that’s where we belong.”

The Magic clearly have their game figured out this weekend. on friday they destroyed it charlotte hornets 121–90 in a play-in game, utilizing tough defense, physicality on both ends and an engaged swagger that was missing for most of the season.

“We found something against Charlotte with our defense, our energy and our communication,” Orlando’s star forward said. paolo banchero Said.

Suggs’ early steal and dunk came during a 15-2 run that put Detroit down 18-5 in the first quarter. Cunningham did everything he could to get Detroit back into the game and scored 39 points. He hit a 3 to tie the score at 65-65 in the third quarter, but the Magic kept answering Detroit’s every push.

The Pistons looked like a rusty team that had been out for a week, but they also didn’t expect the Magic to punch them in the first.

“Just not coming ready to play,” Detroit forward auser thompson Said. “They came out and hit us first. So, we’ve got to do a better job of coming out and hitting them first and executing our coverages better.”

Banchero helped Suggs set the tone early. He scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half and often made perfect plays against Detroit’s defense, refusing to settle for outside shots.

Since shooting 7-for-22, including 0-for-5 from 3, with six turnovers in last Wednesday’s play-in loss to Philadelphia, Banchero has shot a total of 17-for-32, including 4-for-10 from 3, and has scored 25 and 23 points with a total of five turnovers in the Magic’s last two wins.

Orlando head coach Jamahl Mosley said, “I thought Paolo’s dominance in his approach to the game was outstanding.” “His voice, his possession of the court, his presence on the court was special. I think the team follows that. When he has that presence, it’s something to see. His aggressiveness, aggressiveness, making shots with a high level of confidence, finding the matchups he wants.”

Magic packed the paint and didn’t give the All-Star center much Jalen DurenJoe finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

One good thing for the Pistons is that Cunningham said he felt good in his first playoff game since suffering a collapsed lung on March 17. Cunningham played 40 minutes in his fourth game after 11 consecutive starts.

“I felt really good,” said Cunningham, who hit 13 of 27 shots. “It’s been a long time between today and the injury. I’ve prepared very well – the training staff, the weight room staff – everyone has spent a lot of time with me. Finally there was a stop [of the game] That I was a little tired. I came out for a minute or two, the coach gave me a break and then after that I felt good to finish the game.”

The problem for Cunningham and the Pistons is how good the Magic are feeling right now. They’re playing their best basketball at the right time.

“Well, it’s a new season,” Mosley said. “We’ve talked about this a lot with these guys. Whatever story you told yourself during the regular season, that story is complete. Now it’s the playoffs. It’s a whole new season.”