Game 6 collapse: What the Magic said after historic playoff loss

admin_news admin_news
May 2, 2026 - 09:30
0 0
Game 6 collapse: What the Magic said after historic playoff loss

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Up by 24 points early in the third quarter, the Orlando Magic appeared to be on the verge of clinching their first playoff series win in 16 years. Instead, the team handed the Detroit Pistons a historic 93-79 victory in Game 6 on Friday.

The Magic took their largest lead of the contest at 62-38 just 49 seconds into the third quarter on a reverse layup by Desmond Bane. The team managed to score eight additional points before succumbing to a first-of-its-kind scoring drought.

Leading 70-54 following a 3-pointer by Anthony Black with 4 minutes, 14 seconds left in the period, the Magic missed their next 23 shots from the field, a span that lasted 45 minutes in real time. Their 23 misses were the most by any playoff this century, according to ESPN Insights.

The Pistons, trailing 3-2 in the series entering Friday, orchestrated the largest comeback by a road team facing elimination since the 1996-97 season. It was their largest comeback in franchise history, surpassing the previous mark of 19 points in 2007.

"You got to wash it," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "You got to learn from it. You got to go get Game 7. You got to do it the hard way. We've been in Game 7 before, and we understand what this looks like on the road, the magnitude of it. ... You got up big, so you know what you're capable of doing, but you've got to wash it, learn from it and then go figure out a way to do it the hard way in Detroit."

Orlando held a 60-38 advantage at halftime after outscoring Detroit 35-12 in the second period, perhaps its most efficient 12 minutes of the entire series. The group shot 56.1% from the field in the first half while holding the Pistons to 40% overall.

From there, futility set in.

The Pistons outscored the Magic 55-19 in the second half, including 31-8 in the fourth quarter. Orlando missed its last seven shots of the third quarter and its first 16 shots to begin the final frame, and finished by converting only one of its 20 attempts when the final buzzer sounded.

Detroit took the court in the second half with the urgency it needed, while Orlando fell flat and claimed the record for fewest points scored in any half in playoff history. The Pistons were the third team in history to rally from a 20-point halftime deficit in an elimination game.

"I think they were just playing more desperate than us, playing harder than us, whether it was offensive rebounds or heating up the pressure to get steals," said Desmond Bane, who finished with 17 points. "It really kind of took us out of our stuff. It is going to be hard to win games when you score 19 points in a half. I thought a lot of that was because they came out with more energy than us in the second half."

The Magic only had one other starter finish in double figures, with Paolo Banchero tallying 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Tristan da Silva was their third-leading scorer with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench, while three starters combined for 19 points.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons by scoring 24 of his 32 total points in the second half, Tobias Harris recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds and Duncan Robinson added 14 points and five rebounds. Collectively, the group shot 40% in the second half, while holding Orlando to 10.8%.

With the top-seeded Pistons overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7 in Detroit on Sunday (3:30 p.m. EDT, ABC), the group will look to ride its historic momentum into Little Caesars Arena and close out the No. 8 seed Magic in front of a nationally televised audience.

On the other side, the Magic hope to regroup and shake off their Game 6 collapse and win for the second time on the road this series. Squandering their chance to advance to the second round for the first time since 2010, the Magic believe they can bounce back on Sunday.

"The series ain't over," Banchero said. "They've clawed their way to tie it up 3-3. We won a game there to start the series, and we just got to go do it again. (We) can't hang our heads. We got to go to sleep, wake up and get on the plane with a clear mind and do whatever we got to do to get the win."

This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Game 6 collapse: What the Magic said after historic playoff loss

Read More