jalen rose, the Orlando Magic led by 22 points at halftime and still lost 93-79 to the Detroit Pistons on Friday. The collapse sent the series to Game 7 on the road after Orlando had once led 3-1.
Paolo Banchero and the fourth quarter
Paolo Banchero supplied Orlando’s only field goal in the fourth quarter with a dunk. By then, the Magic had already fallen into a long scoring drought and never recovered.
The Pistons outscored Orlando 55-19 in the second half. The Magic shot 4-for-37 after halftime and went 1-for-20 in the fourth quarter, a finish that turned a 60-38 edge into a 93-79 defeat.
Detroit's elimination rally
Detroit did more than erase the deficit. It became the third team in the play-by-play era to rally from 20-plus points down at halftime when facing elimination in a playoff game, and it delivered the largest comeback by a road team facing elimination since the 1996-97 season.
That swing also exposed just how fast the game changed. Orlando missed 21 straight field goals during one second-half stretch and went 45 minutes of real time between made baskets, from 8:46 ET to 9:31 ET.
Game 7 on the road
The series now heads to a Game 7 against the top-seeded Pistons. Orlando had held a 3-1 lead before Friday, but the margin that mattered most disappeared in one half, and the road game ahead is the only thing left on the schedule.
