Detroit Pistons score in Game 5 win over Magic

FINAL: Pistons 116, Magic 109.

Cade Cunningham scored a playoff career high 45 points as the Pistons held off the Magic for a 116-109 win.

We head to Orlando on Friday for Game 6, another must-win game for Detroit.

4Q, 0:31: Pistson 114, Magic 109.

A 3-pointer from Paolo Banchero gave him 42 points for the night, a playoff career high. It also brought the Magic to within six points with under three minutes left in the game.

A Banchero miss on the next possession (and Ausar Thompson’s 13th rebound) allowed Cade Cunningham to respond with his 43rd point on a midrange jumper. Pistons center Jalen Duren blocked a Banchero layup attempt two possessions later, but Banchero immediately responded with a quick 3-pointer off the inbounds pass, bringing Detroit’s lead to three points.

A key rebound from Thompson on a Tobias Harris miss gave the Pistons the ball back, leading to another Cunningham midrange jumper to extend Detroit’s lead to five points.

Banchero has 45 points. Cunningham has 45 points. What a battle.

4Q, 3:52: Pistons 110, Magic 101.

Cade Cunningham’s two made free throws after the break gave him 41 points for the night, a playoff career high and the third-most points in Pistons playoff history. He is 14-for-14 from the free-throw line this game.

4Q, 4:30: Pistons 108, Magic 101.

With Pistons center Jalen Duren back in the game, Detroit looked to attack early, with Cade Cunningham finding Duren for the tough layup and-one. It gives Duren 10 points for the game and his first points since the first quarter.

Ausar Thompson virtually erased Anthony Black’s shot attempt on the next possession, marking his second block of the game and bringing the LCA crowd to a stirring “oooh!” Tobias Harris nailed a 3-pointer on the next possession, putting the Pistons over 100 points for just the third time this series.

The Magic are hanging around, however, mostly thanks to Paolo Banchero. He hit a 3-pointer, a floater and another 3-pointer on back-to-back-to-back possessions, giving him a game-high 39 points. He couldn’t hit the and-one free throw after the layup, however.

And that’s a big reason why the Magic aren’t winning this game. They have taken 30 free throws but have only hit 16 of them, shooting just over a dismal 50% from the line. The Pistons, meanwhile, are 22-for-29 from the line, solidly leading in that department.

Both Desmond Bane and Anthony Black now have registered five personal fouls, something the Pistons offense has looked to exploit in the last few minutes.

4Q, 9:26: Pistons 96, Magic 86.

The fourth quarter started with an Ausar Thompson layup, continued with a Javonte Green 3-pointer and was soon followed by a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer. The Pistons lead grew from 10 points to 16 points in less than two minutes.

Paolo Banchero stopped that momentum with a layup, giving him 29 points for the game, and an Anthony Black 3-pointer led to a Pistons timeout.

End 3Q: Pistons 89, Magic 79.

Ausar Thompson found Cade Cunningham on the fast break behind the 3-point line, leading to a Cunningham 3-pointer and his 35th point of the night.

Thompson has been everywhere so far this game, leading all players with 12 rebounds while adding five assists, four steals and a block to his tally. He has just four points, but that didn’t stop the LCA crowd from giving him the biggest ovation of the night after a hustle play on offense.

And when Cunningham and Tobias Harris combine for 51 points, Thompson doesn’t necessarily need to score to have a big impact on the game. The Pistons social media certainly understands.

3Q, 3:58: Pistons 82, Magic 73.

Back-to-back buckets from Tobias Harris, the second one off a fast break initiated by an Ausar Thompson steal, allowed the Pistons to extend their lead to nine points before the Magic timeout. Harris has 16 points and five rebounds.

Orlando is hanging around with Paolo Banchero having 27 points, but the Pistons seem to have answers for every Magic run. Pistons center Jalen Duren is on the bench with four fouls, however, as he and Magic guard Desmond Bane have both gotten into foul trouble.

3Q, 6:37: Pistons 76, Magic 69.

Magic forward Paolo Banchero scored the first three points of the half for the Magic, two on a layup and one on a free throw. Pistons star Cade Cunningham got three points on one shot on the next possession, raising his total to 30.

But Magic guard Desmond Bane followed that with a 3-pointer to bring Orlando within four points, and guard Jalen Suggs made it a two-point game with a 3-pointer of his own.

The Pistons turning the ball over on back-to-back offensive fouls led to an opportunity for Orlando to tie the game, but both teams went scoreless for four-straight possessions, preserving Detroit’s two-point lead. Tobias Harris broke the scoring drought with a midrange pullup, notching his 12th point of the game, while Duncan Robinson’s corner 3-pointer extended Detroit’s lead to seven points.

HALFTIME: Pistons 66, Magic 60.

Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been excellent so far this game, shooting 8-for-14 and leading Orlando with 22 points while adding five rebounds and four assists. But Pistons star Cade Cunningham has been better with 27 points of his own, including 15 in the second quarter – though he trails Banchero on rebounds (four) and assists (one).

The Magic made it an 8-point game with consecutive 3-pointers from Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr., but Cunningham slowed the game down drawing a foul and then hitting two free throws. The Magic have 16 team fouls so far this game, while the Pistons have 11, making this the chippiest game of the series so far.

Orlando made it a six-point game with under a minute left after an Anthony Black 3-pointer, but Jamal Cain missed an opportunity to make it a four-point game with two missed three throws. The Pistons have been outplaying the Magic all half, but lost an opportunity to blow the game open late in the half, leading by as much as 17 points but going into halftime with a six-point lead.

2Q, 5:37: Pistons 50, Magic 41

Make that nine Pistons with points on the scoresheet.

After hitting two free throws, Daniss Jenkins stole the ball from Jalen Suggs and started the fast-break, eventually leading to guard Javonte Green sinking a corner 3-pointer. All nine Pistons who have touched the floor have now scored, with Cade Cunningham still leading all Pistons with 14 points.

The Magic are getting to the free-throw line more frequently in the second quarter, now shooting 7-for-12 from the line. But the Pistons are also turning most of their possessions into points, as they are shooting just over 50% from the field.

If it wasn’t for Paolo Banchero, the Magic might not be in the game at all. He turned a controversial jump-ball call into a bucket with an and-one foul to make it a nine-point game, though he missed the subsequent free throw. He leads all scorers with 20 points.

2Q, 9:27: Pistons 43, Magic 29.

Cade Cunningham’s first 3-pointer of the game gave him a game-high 12 points and extended Detroit’s lead to a game-high 14 points. The Pistons have found their offensive rhythm.

End 1Q: Pistons 38, Magic 26.

The Magic came out of the break scoring four straight points, but a Daniss Jenkins fastbreak layup stalled that momentum and gave Jenkins his first points of the night.

Detroit’s defense has limited Orlando’s second-chance opportunities, as the Magic have gotten only nine points from players not named Paolo Banchero or Desmond Bane. The Pistons, meanwhile, are much more balanced with eight scorers so far as they take a 12-point lead into the second quarter.

1Q, 2:57: Pistons 32, Magic 20.

Pistons guard Duncan Robinson missed one of two free throws after the timeout, and then hit a 3-pointer on the next possession.

But those missed free throws could be costly. The Pistons have done well drawing fouls, but are 6-for-12 from the line so far this game. They have kept the Magic from scoring easy points, however, as Orlando has only taken four free throws so far.

Magic forward Paolo Banchero has shot well so far this game and leads all scorers with 10 points. But the rest of the Magic lineup hasn’t gotten going as the Pistons have opened up a 12-point lead.

1Q, 6:05: Pistons 18, Magic 13.

Pistons center Jalen Duren got the scoring started while double-teamed, spinning towards the basket and getting the bucket plus the and-one foul shot. The Pistons have been looking feed Duren early over the past few games, and this is the first time it has led to points. Duren then got an offensive rebound on a missed foul shot from Tobias Harris, feeding Harris for a dunk to make it a 5-0 game, before hitting two free throws on the next possession to make it 7-2 Pistons.

Detroit has already drawn five fouls from the Magic, but are just 3-for-7 from the free-throw line. The Pistons have gotten three offensive rebounds from free-throw misses, however, as Detroit has done a better job of crashing the boards early and creating second-chance opportunities.

Duren leads all scorers with seven points and three rebounds so far as he has looked like the most dominating presence on the floor.

No surprises with the starting five the Pistons are rolling out for Game 5.

Forward Jamal Cain will replace Franz Wagner in Orlando’s starting five.

The Pistons have listed shooting guard Kevin Huerter as questionable for Game 5.

Fans at Little Caesars Arena will not be receiving complementary matching t-shirts today, with towels draping the bowl seats.