The Pistons had their backs against the wall Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena. What was an extraordinary regular season with the third-most wins in franchise history was in jeopardy of an unceremonious exit to the eighth-seeded Magic.
Game 5 was a heavyweight bout between two of the NBA's youngest stars, and Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero went blow for blow. The Pistons couldn't see an impeccable season end in five games to an eight seed in front of their home fans—it simply was not acceptable. And while elimination remained a real possibility until the final minute, Cunningham simply didn't allow his team to go out that way.
