Game 7 has arrived. And it will be glorious.
The Pistons and Magic have been locked in a fiercely competitive first-round series. No. 8 seed Orlando seemed fated to pull off the rare upset of the No. 1 seed in the first round after going up 3–1 in the series, but Detroit battled valiantly to pull out a pair of hard-earned wins in Game 5 and 6 to stay alive and force a Game 7. Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero have put up some tremendous performances as the stars that lead their respective rosters; they’ll both have to dig deep Sunday if they want to fight another day.
The finale of what has been the most back-and-forth series in the first round tipped off on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Pistons took advantage of a rocking home crowd and scored 60 points in the first half to take an 11-point lead into halftime. Tobias Harris was the hero of the first half with 19 points and everything on the line.
Two quarters to go in the first Game 7 of the day.
Pistons vs. Magic Game 7 live updates
How we got here ...
The Pistons were the best team in the East all season long and finished as one of three teams to clear the 60-win mark, an extraordinarily impressive achievement for a franchise that hasn’t enjoyed a lot of good basketball in the last 15 or so years. But the roster’s offensive weaknesses were exposed immediately come playoff time after the Magic earned the No. 8 seed with a play-in win; they dared anybody other than Cunningham on the Pistons’ roster to beat them and for the first four games of the series that proved a winning strategy.
But Detroit refused to roll over. Cunningham set a franchise record with 45 points to win Game 5 and the Pistons roared back from 22 points down in Game 6 as Orlando’s own offensive ineptitude caused an epic collapse. Nobody knows how Game 7 will look on the court, but we do know that it’s going to be fun to watch. This whole series has been.
From a game-by-game breakdown, here’s how we got here—and we can’t wait to see how it all wraps up.
- Game 1: Magic 112, Pistons 101
- Game 2: Pistons 98, Magic 83
- Game 3: Magic 113, Pistons 105
- Game 4: Magic 94, Pistons 88
- Game 5: Pistons 116, Magic 109
- Game 6: Pistons 93, Magic 79
More NBA playoffs on Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
- Joel Embiid Has One Direct Request for 76ers Fans Ahead of Series vs. Knicks
- Celtics Offseason Preview: How Boston Can Bounce Back After Shocking First-Round Exit to 76ers
- Peter’s Points: NBA Best Bets Today (Predictions, Prop Bets for Raptors vs. Cavs, Desmond Bane, Magic-Pistons)
- Jaylen Brown Calls Out ‘Flopping’ Joel Embiid After Celtics’ Season Ends in Brutal Elimination
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pistons vs. Magic Game 7 Live Updates: Detroit Leads Orlando Thanks to Scorching Tobias Harris.
