On April 15, not too long ago, the Magic walked off the court in Philadelphia on the brink of elimination in the NBA play-in tournament.
Back inside Kia Center on Saturday afternoon, Orlando captured a 2-1 series lead over the top-seeded Pistons during the first round of the playoffs, bringing new life to their season and providing an intriguing outlook on what’s possible moving forward.
But this team isn’t the same team that lost to the Sixers 109-97 in the Nos. 7-8 play-in game. The version of Jamahl Mosley‘s squad we’re seeing now knows how to respond to adversity, how to fight back and how to finish off an opponent.
After taking down Charlotte in a win-or-go-home play-in game at home on April 17 and capturing their first road win in the playoffs under Mosley at Detroit in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series two days later, the Magic pulled off their latest trick in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Detroit.
It could serve as a turning point for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff series in almost two decades.
A golden opportunity awaits Orlando in Game 4 on Monday night on NBC. It’s the type of opportunity that the Magic can’t pass up if they want to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first since 2010.
“We just want to win so bad,” Magic forward Paolo Banchero said. “Once we got into the play-in, got our spot in the playoffs … It’s a new season, that’s all we kept saying. It’s a new season, new energy.”
Battling back and fourth with the Pistons behind seven 3-pointers from Desmond Bane, Orlando appeared to pull away when it took a 17-point lead three minutes into the fourth. Led by Cade Cunningham, Detroit went on a 26-8 run to completely erase its double-digit deficit and actually lead by one point with 2:52 remaining.
It’s exactly the type of late-game swing that the Magic would’ve crumbled under and eventually lose the game in the past. Not this edition of Orlando, however.
Franz Wagner scored five straight points by hitting a pair of jump shots, including a 27-foot 3-pointer from the left wing. After Wagner missed a floater 40 seconds later, Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed a key offensive rebound and was sent to the free-throw line.
He split a pair of free throws before Cunningham committed his ninth turnover. Banchero picked off the bad pass, brought the ball down the court and received a favorable bounce on a 3-pointer to put Orlando ahead by eight points over Detroit late.
“Franz and Paolo are two gifted players just all around,” Carter said. “We put ourselves in that situation and those guys are very confident in what they’ve done (and) the work that they’ve put in. So, I’m rocking with whatever shot they decide to take and like I said, that’s what they’re here to do — take the big shots and make the big shots.”
While Wagner’s clutch shots put Orlando back in front, Banchero’s bouncy bucket served as the dagger.
“When I saw how it bounced, it went directly up,” Banchero said. “So, the optimist in me was like, ‘That’s going in.’ And it dropped. I said after the Philly loss, basketball gods don’t reward hesitation. That one, I didn’t hesitate and they blessed me with that make.”
Maybe it was thanks to the basketball gods. Or luck. Or even destiny.
Whatever the reason, Banchero’s 3-pointer put the contest on ice and the eighth-seeded Magic ahead 2-1 in the series over the top-seeded Pistons. It’s the 13th time since 1984, when the NBA went to the 16-team format, that a No. 8 seed has taken a 2-1 lead in a first-round series over a No. 1 seed, according to the Associated Press.
Of the previous 12, five finished off the upset: Miami in 2023, Philadelphia in 2012, Memphis in 2011, Golden State in 2007 and New York in 1999.
“We know what the next game holds,” Magic guard Jalen Suggs said in the locker room about Orlando’s chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead Monday. “We know the magnitude of it, and we’ve got to come out and continue doing the things that we did tonight and build off of a couple key learning moments that we can take with us into the next one.
“But like I said, we know what’s at stake,” he added. “Got to go get it.”
To be sure, teams that lead a best-of-seven series 3-1 go on to win the series 95.6% of the time.
Orlando has held a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven series six times and gone on to win those series 83.3% of the time for a 5-1 record. Their lone loss? That came in the 2003 first round against Detroit.
And similar to 23 years ago, these Pistons don’t plan on backing down either.
“It’s one game at a time,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “That’s what playoff series are. We come down here, we win on Monday, we take homecourt advantage back.
“(Saturday’s) game, we’ll learn from it, but it’s over with,” he added. “It gives us more opportunity to study, more film to watch, more time to prepare for Monday, but you can’t hang on to it.”
Orlando forward Franz Wagner made several key baskets down the stretch to help the Magic win Game 3 against Detroit. They’ll need his clutch play to continue in a critical Game 4 at the Kia Center on Monday. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
Orlando will just continue to do what it did after it took down Charlotte more than a week ago to avoid its season from ending short.
“Fight,” Carter said. “We understood it was an elimination game. We won it, and it’s a brand-new season now. No matter what happened those past 82 games, it’s all about what’s happening right now, and we’ve done a good job of being able to turn the page and be optimistic about what this season could ultimately end in.
“That’s the beauty of this team — we always find a way to respond.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic vs. Pistons, Game 4
When: 8 p.m., Monday, Kia Center
TV: NBC/Peacock