The Detroit Pistons defeat the Orlando Magic, 98-83, to even the series at 1-1.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019re still waiting for this series to live up to its billing: Two big, physical and talented teams more evenly matched than their 1 vs. 8 seeding<\/a> would suggest. They wound up in this showdown because Detroit enjoyed a laudably consistent season, while Orlando had anything but.<\/p>\n Through two games, there have been some similarities. Scoring has been tight and down \u2013 Detroit a combined 199, Orlando 195. Neither team has looked title-worthy from the 3-point line (27.6% accuracy by the Pistons, 27.3% by the Magic).<\/p>\n But neither team is happy with the 1-1 deadlock heading into Game 3 at Orlando\u2019s Kia Center (1 ET, Peacock\/NBC<\/a>). The Pistons consider the opener Sunday<\/a> a sub-par performance in which rust from a week\u2019s layoff hurt them against a rolling opponent.<\/p>\n That opponent, meanwhile, looked terrific in Game 1<\/a> and competent enough for 24 minutes of a grimy Game 2<\/a>. Then the bottom dropped out for the Magic in the second half, putting the foes on decidedly different paths for the next meeting.<\/p>\n Here are three things to watch for in Game 3 on Saturday:<\/p>\n 1. Residue from 30-3?<\/p>\n If there were such a thing as post-traumatic run syndrome, Orlando\u2019s players, coaches and fans might actually be suffering from it. That\u2019s how profound the Magic\u2019s collapse was in the third quarter Wednesday.<\/p>\n Imagine driving cross-country, only to get side-swiped by an 18-wheeler, spun into oncoming traffic, plunged into a ravine and coming to rest next to den of wolverines somewhere in Missouri. Odds are, that memory would stick with you for a while.<\/p>\n Orlando\u2019s version was the eight-minute stretch in Game 2 in which it got outscored 30-3, falling behind by 27 points and unable to threaten from there. The Pistons, responding to a confrontational harangue from coach J.B. Bickerstaff, played and sounded from there as if it was motivating enough to carry them to carry them to the conference finals.<\/p>\n \u201cHe really got on us in the locker room,\u201d said forward Tobias Harris. \u201cThere\u2019s no more \u2018My bads.\u2019 They\u2019re out there hustling, getting offensive boards on us and there\u2019s too many of them. For us as a group, we know that\u2019s not our standard, so he was on us. But we obviously felt it as a group, we needed to be better for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n The Magic consoled themselves by focusing on the split they got of the opening games at Little Caesars Arena and on the scenery shift to their building. But they might have had two, and they have to wonder if they\u2019ve awakened the superior team.<\/p>\n 2. Slow Cunningham or suffer consequences<\/p>\n Cade Cunningham joins Isiah Thomas as the only Pistons to record multiple playoff games with 25+ points and 10+ assists<\/p>\n Detroit\u2019s offensive engine is their point guard, looking through two performances like a future MVP finalist. It isn\u2019t a matter of \u201chow Cade Cunningham goes, so go the Pistons\u201d but rather, can Cunningham get a lot out of his teammates while he\u2019s providing a lot on his own?<\/p>\n In Game 1, the fourth-year playmaker scored 39 points but couldn\u2019t unlock enough of his teammates. That went better in Game 2, with all five Detroit starters scoring in double figures while Cunningham scored 27 to go along with 11 assists.<\/p>\n Center Isaiah Stewart spoke afterward of the guard\u2019s impact once he\u2019s rolling:<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, it uplifts us, makes us go with him. For the other team, it\u2019s just a problem for them that they have to figure out. [The Pistons] changed their coverages and stuff, which helped free us up and allowed us to make plays.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t that long ago, just a month, that he, they and we wondered if everyone would be cheated of this. That\u2019s when Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung<\/a> \u2013 not a familiar basketball injury \u2013 in an on-court collision at Washington. He missed 11 games, returning in time to qualify (with an appeal<\/a>) under the 65-game rule for awards and honors, and to do a whole lot of what he\u2019s currently doing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just grateful to be here, grateful to be back, feeling the way I feel right now, whenever my team needs me,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cSo all glory to God, for sure. I just want to continue to go and represent.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. Rays of sunshine for the Magic?<\/p>\n Orlando wasn\u2019t exactly dominant at the Kia Center this season, winning seven more games there (26-16) than they did on the road. Its shooting numbers were slightly worse, too.<\/p>\n But going home frequently has a broader benefit in the playoffs. The truism is that role players typically play better in more comfortable, less pressurized surroundings. And the Magic have a few \u2013 Anthony Black, Tristan da Silva, Jevon Carter if called upon \u2013 who could raise their games a notch.<\/p>\n Maybe center Wendell Carter Jr. will get back on track. He arguably was Orlando\u2019s best performer in Game 1 (17 points, seven rebounds, five assists, 8-9 FGs) but spent Game 2 in foul trouble, making just one of his six shots. He finished with three points and a minus-29. With Detroit\u2019s bigs perking up, the Magic can\u2019t afford for Carter to perk down.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on X<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n