The Pistons delivered that punch<\/a>, getting the Magic into the bonus within the first seven possessions of the game and building as much as a 17-point lead in the first half.<\/p>\n Cade Cunningham put in an all-time performance with 45 points, counteracting Paolo Banchero’s 45-point showing<\/a>. It was exactly what a team on the brink of elimination needed to do.<\/p>\n The Pistons and their star came into Game 5 with the mentality that they would not lose on their home floor and played with the intensity to match.<\/p>\n “[I just came in with] a ‘never doubt’ mentality,” Cunningham said after Game 5. “I just wanted to have controlled aggression all night and make sure they felt me. I don\u2019t want the season to end right now so I have to put it all on the line.”<\/p>\n That is what a star player and a team is supposed to do when facing elimination. The Pistons threw everything at the Magic and made sure not to repeat the mistakes of Games 3 and 4, where the Magic were first to every loose ball.<\/p>\n The defining play of the game saw Ausar Thompson — with an impressive 6-point, 15-rebound, 6-assist, 5-steal performance — beat out Jalen Suggs to a key rebound, setting up Cade Cunningham to drain a jumper with 30 seconds left to put the Pistons up five.<\/p>\n They took control and held on to defend their home floor. Now it is the Magic’s turn to do the same.<\/p>\n One game at a time<\/p>\n The Detroit Pistons had to do whatever it took to win the game in Game 5. That is what will be necessary in Game 6 for both teams.<\/p>\n This is what late-series games are like. They are bout will as much as about execution<\/a>. The team that plays the hardest has been the one to win.<\/p>\n Detroit had a tall hill ahead of it down 3-1. It needed to get just the first game before it could worry about the second game. This was the first time the Pistons had their backs against the wall.<\/p>\n “I mean, it was do or die, right? So, no matter what the moment was, no matter who they put out there on the floor, we knew that if we wanted our season to continue, we were going to have to give it all we had,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after Game 5. “I think [Wednesday] we did a great job of that. It\u2019s a simple formula. I think people put a lot of weight on it, but it\u2019s one at a time.”<\/p>\n Detroit still has the mindset of taking this one game at a time. That is all the Pistons can do.<\/p>\n That is what they will try to do again in Game 6.<\/p>\n Urgency to match?<\/p>\n The Orlando Magic said they wanted to play with the same urgency. Matching it on the road was difficult — and the early foul trouble put the team on its back foot.<\/p>\n But the Magic did come back successfully, cutting the 17-point first-half deficit to two midway through the third quarter. They cut a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to three in the final minute.<\/p>\n Orlando showed it can answer the bell, even with Detroit throwing the kitchen sink at the team.<\/p>\n
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