Detroit’s season did not end in Orlando. It hardened.
The Pistons beat the Magic 93-79 in Game 6 at Kia Center, tying the series 3-3 and forcing a Game 7 behind a brutal second-half defensive performance. Orlando scored 60 points in the first half, including 35 in the second quarter. After halftime, the Magic scored only 19 total points. In the fourth quarter, they managed just eight.
Cade Cunningham played like the man Detroit needed him to be: 32 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, 10-for-12 at the line, and more importantly, control. In a game that could have slipped away after Orlando’s second-quarter surge, Cunningham gave the Pistons structure. He did not just score; he steadied them.
Tobias Harris added 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Ausar Thompson shaped the game without needing shots: 10 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Duncan Robinson gave Detroit four made threes, and the Pistons’ defense did the rest.
For Orlando, it was a collapse in rhythm. Paolo Banchero finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, but shot 4-for-20 from the field and 0-for-9 from three. Jalen Suggs went 1-for-10. Desmond Bane scored 17, but the Magic could not find anything reliable once Detroit tightened the game.
Now comes Game 7. Detroit survived. Orlando missed its chance. The series gets one more night.
