ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons are on the brink of elimination as the No. 8 seed Orlando takes a commanding 3-1 series lead, winning 94-88 inside the Kia Center.
Orlando has been the better team in this series, and it showed in Games 1, 3, and 4 as their size and timely shooting have been the catalyst for their monumental lead.
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The loss was due to a lack of shooting and poor play by Detroit, which had 20 turnovers.
Poor free-throw shooting also did them in as they were 20-28, missing eight in the fourth quarter.
Cade Cunningham finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, but his turnovers (eight) have cost the Pistons in consecutive road games against Orlando.
But the Magic put out the blueprint for defeating Detroit: build a wall around him and make his teammates beat him from beyond the arc, which they have not done.
Jalen Duren had another slow game as he finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, and four turnovers in the loss.
Tobias Harris chipped in with 20 points and six rebounds but Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart, Javonte Green, Caris LeVert, Kevin Huerter and Daniss Jenkins all finished with single digits in the scoring column.
They even scored one three-pointer in the second half, finishing 1-16 from beyond the arc.
While Orlando had four players, including Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., and Desmond Bane, all scored in double figures.
1st quarter
The Pistons won the tip, and Tobias Harris turned the ball over, leading to a Desmond Bane steal, and a Jalen Suggs assist to center Wendell Carter Jr.’s three-pointer.
Cunningham missed a 20-foot pull-up jumper, leading to a Paolo Banchero defensive rebound and assist to Bane for a wide-open three-pointer to take a 6-0 lead.
Jalen Duren picked up an offensive foul before turning the ball over with 10:47 to play, leading to a Franz Wagner driving layup to take an 8-0 lead.
Cade Cunningham found Harris for a seven-foot jumper, giving the team its first points of the game, as Suggs was called for a foul. Harris made the free throw.
Wagner, the former Michigan Wolverines forward, made a four-foot jumper to take a 10-3 lead.
Cunningham made a 15-foot two-point jumper to cut the deficit to 10-5.
Motor Cade turned the ball over to Suggs, leading to a Paolo Banchero dunk with an assist to Carter Jr.
Cunningham turned the ball over again, leading to a foul on Duncan Robinson, sending Bane to the line, where he split the pair.
Ausar Thompson turned the ball over, leading to a Cunningham foul, sending Banchero to the line for two, making both.
Cunningham turned the ball over again, leading to a Wagner running layup.
He turned the ball over again, but it didn’t cost the Pistons on the other end as Banchero missed a wide-open three-pointer.
Harris made a running layup before he picked up a foul.
Carter Jr. got another assist, finding Bane for a 19-foot jumper to take a 19-7 lead.
Cunningham made a three-pointer, with assists going to Duren, as Detroit trailed 19-10.
Thompson blocked Carter Jr., leading to a Cunningham defensive rebound and a dish to Harris, who bricked a 23-foot three-pointer.
Banchero got the defensive rebound and drew a foul on Cunningham, who made both free throws.
Duren made a jumper for his first points of the game before Cunningham found Harris for a dunk.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff challenged a Thompson foul on a three-point attempt on Suggs, which was overturned, leading to a Cunningham drive and foul, sending him to the line for two, which he made.
Javonte Green entered the game and got called for a foul, sending Trista Da Silva to the line, splitting the pair as Detroit was on a 9-2 run.
Cunningham made a three-pointer before Da Silva shot an airball as they trailed 22-19.
Duren got an offensive rebound and a slam to cut the once 12-point deficit to one.
Orlando had seven straight misses in the game with 2:22 to play as Bickerstaff called a timeout.
Cunningham had two fouls in the first quarter, and Detroit had seven turnovers, including five in a row early in the quarter.
Green got free on a back screen for an easy jam to take their first lead of the game, leading 23-22 before he fouled Wagner, who went to the line for two, making both to regain the lead.
Daniss Jenkins made a driving layup to regain the lead.
Detroit got a defensive rebound and hit a running Jenkins, who found Caris LeVert for a bucket that was blocked but called goaltending on Goga Bitadze.
Isaiah Stewart entered the game and recorded two blocks to make his presence known before Orlando called a timeout with 18.2 to play and six seconds on the game clock.
After a defensive stop, Bane, on a broken-up offensive possession, regained possession in the back court and found Bitadze under the basket for an and-one, drawing a foul on Stewart, but he couldn’t convert as Jenkins got bumped while shooting a last-second three-pointer, but no foul was called as Detroit led 27-26.
2nd quarter
Detroit opened the second quarter with a timely stop, finding Robinsn for an open three-pointer, but he missed.
Anthony Black went coast-to-coast to retake the lead, before Stewart drained a three-pointer to retake the lead.
Jamal Cain tied the game at 30-30 with a layup before Robinson made a layup to take the lead.
Harris made a technical free-throw before Cunningham drained a three-pointer, his thirteenth point of the game, before Harris made a driving dunk to take a 38-30 lead.
Cunningham made a contested bunny at the rim to take a 40-30 lead.
Da Silva made a three-pointer to cut the 10-point deficit to 40-33.
Cunningham made a technical free throw called on Carter Jr. to take a 41-33 lead.
Carter Jr. made a tip shot before Duren found Robinson for a 24-foot three-pointer.
Carter Jr. hit Wagner for a driving layup to cut the deficit to seven before Duren drew a foul on the former Wolverines forward, sending him to the line for two, making both.
Carter Jr. found Banchero for a dunk before Wagner hit Bane with an assist on a three-pointer as Orlando cut the deficit to four.
Bane later fouled Robinson, sending him to the line for two, making both, before Wagner hit a three-foot jumper.
Banchero found Wagner for a jumper to cut the deficit to two before Cunningham got an assist to Duren for a layup.
Cunningham picked up his third foul of the game, sending Banchero to the line for two, making both.
Orlando retook the lead after Wagner hit Bane for a three-pointer, before Wagner, before Thompson made a tip dunk.
Banchero found Wagner for a three-pointer to retake the lead, 54-52, before Duren turned the ball over to end the half as Orlando went on a 17-6 run in the quarter.
Cunningham had 16 points and four assists in the half, but Wagner had 17 points and four rebounds.
Orlando opened the first quarter with a 12-point lead, but Detroit led 40-30 in the second quarter, and turnovers kept them in the game as the Pistons had 12 in the half while the Magic had three.
Cunningham had six turnovers in the first half.
3rd quarter
Banchero found Bane for a driving layup to open the half, but Cunningham followed suit with a jumper to cut the deficit to two.
Thompson picked up a cheap foul following a Cunningham brick.
Banchero drew a foul and went to the line for two, making both.
He went to the line again after getting fouled by Robinson, splitting the pair, before Wagner attacked him again, picking up another foul, as Wagner went to the line and made both, pushing the lead to five.
Wagner found Carter Jr. for a lob to take a 63-56 lead as Bickerstaff called a timeout with 7:20 to play.
Orlando opened the first 4:40 of the half on a 9-4 run to take a seven-point lead.
Detroit came out of the timeout and drew up a Harris iso that fell short.
Orlando turned the ball over on the next possession, leading to a Duren contested floater.
Carter Jr. drew a foul on Green, going to the line and making both to push the deficit to seven.
Wagner fouled Duren, Orlando’s first foul of the quarter.
Green hit a corner three-pointer.
Cain made a four-foot shot before Black fouled Cunningham on a jumper, in which he shot with his left hand.
Cunningham made both free throws as Detroit trailed by four.
Duren attacked the rim as Cunningham found him under the basket for a bunny.
Carter Jr. got fouled by Duren, splitting the pair to take a 68-65 lead with 4:48 to play.
Cunningham committed the Pistons’ 14th turnover of the game, throwing the ball out of bounds toward Green.
Harris missed a jumper but swiped Banchero, leading to a fast break where Cunningham turned the ball over again.
Daa Silva made a 12-foot push shot to take a five-point lead.
LeVert missed a jumper, but Stewart deflected a shot attempt on Banchero, who hit the ball while standing out of bounds, leading to a challenge by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley.
Orlando couldn’t convert, leading to a Cunningham layup and the foul, knocking down the free throw.
Stewart got fouled on defense and went to the line, splitting the pair as Detroit trailed by one.
He had five blocks thus far in the tightly contested matchup.
Bane made a contested three-pointer before forcing Robinson to travel on the next possession.
Stewart got in the way of Banes’s contested jumpshot before LeVert couldn’t make the contested layup on the other end.
Bane got fouled, making both to take a 75-69 lead with 1:06 to play.
Cunningham missed a wide-open three-pointer before LeVert forced an eight-second violation with 39.9 to play in the quarter.
Cunningham played hero ball and got blocked by Bitadze to end the quarter.
4th quarter
Robinson missed a contested three-pointer before Jenkins hit a slashing Stewart down the lane, getting fouled but couldn’t convert the and-one.
Banchero got called for traveling, Orlando’s sixth turnover of the game.
Bane got called for a foul on Robinson with 10:45 to play.
Jenkins missed a contested jumper before Suggs turned the ball over to Robinson, who started a fast break, as the ball found Harris for an and-one, as Detroit trailed 75-74.
Suggs missed a three-pointer, but Cain had a chance to tip the ball back in, but got deflected.
Cain later got a foul before Harris missed a contested jumper, leading to an offensive foul on Stewart on the box-out attempt.
Banchero hit a three-foot shot over Harris and drew a foul, going to the line where he completed the three-point play.
Trailing by four, Stewart got called for another offensive foul with 9:03 to play.
Banchero missed a jumper, leading to a Thompson shooting against Carter Jr.
Thompson went to the line and made both to cut the deficit to two.
Cain made a monster jam on Duren, sending him to the floor.
Orlando turned the ball over, and Suggs got called for a foul, sending Jenkins to the line, splitting the pair.
Banchero made a pull-up jumper over Cunningham to take an 82-77 lead with 7:41 to play.
Harris missed the first free throw, but made the second as they trailed 82-78.
Jenkins picked up a foul as new broke that Wagner was sidelines with calf tightness.
Harris made a nine-foot jumper to cut the deficit to two before Suggs hit a corner three-pointer.
Cain got called for a foul on Cunningham, leading 85-80 with 6:30 to play.
Cunningham split the pair before Harris drilled a corner jumper.
Bane picked up his fourth foul before Thompson drove to the paint for the bunny to tie the game.
Cain made a tip jam to retake the lead, before Cunningham shot an early three-pointer barely hitting the rim.
Cunningham picked up his fourth foul of the game on the next possession.
Orlando got called for a shot-clock violation with 4:21 to play.
LeVert got called for an offensive foul.
After a tough defensive stop, Harris couldn’t made a wide open three pointer, leading to a foul on Banchero foul, sho missed both free throws.
Cunningham missed a floater before Carter Jr. grabbed a defensive rebound and getting fouled before a timeout was called.
Carter Jr. made both to take a four-point lead.
Duren got called for his fifth foul of the game.
After a defensive stop, Jenkins missed an open three-pointer.
Detroit played tough defense and got the defensive rebound before Cunningham bricked the first free throw.
He made the second as the Pistons trailed 89-86 with 1:35 to play.
Bane made a bank three-pointer to take a six-point lead with 1:16 to play.
Thompson got blocked as Orlando baited Detroit into a three-point shot, which they did not take.
Orlando led 92-86 but Bane turned the ball over, leading to a Suggs foul on Thompson foul, sending him to th line for two, missing both.
LeVert shot an airball and Stewart got called for another offensive foul, sending Sugggs to the line for two, making both.