Detroit Pistons (45-14) beat Orlando Magic (31-28) 106-92 on the road on Sunday, March 1 in a low-scoring game: just 198 combined points between the two teams.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Magic had the better start, winning the first 26-23 to lead by 3 after one. The Magic kept the pressure on with a 31-27 second quarter, carrying a 7-point lead into halftime.
The Pistons won the third 31-18 to turn the game around, taking a 6-point lead into the fourth. The Pistons took the fourth 25-17; the Pistons finished the job for a 106-92 regulation win.
What decided it
The Pistons grabbed 30.4% of their own misses, while the Magic recovered 17.6%. The Pistons took better care of the ball, turning it over on 12.7% of possessions compared with 19% for the Magic. The second chances kept adding up.
The Magic did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 31.2 against 19.4. The Pistons made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 101 possessions per team, the Pistons produced 104.6 points per 100 possessions to 90.7 for the Magic.
Who made the difference
Cade Cunningham was the game's biggest individual force for DET: 29 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast on 11-25 shooting. His Game Score of 22 led everyone. His team was +14 with him on the floor.
Tristan Da Silva led the Magic with 19 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast on 8-13 shooting, good for a 15.8 Game Score.
Paolo Banchero (24 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast), Jalen Duren (16 pts, 10 reb, 1 ast), and Cade Cunningham (29 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 61% for the Pistons.
Across the last 5 meetings in our records, Orlando Magic lead 3-2.
The Pistons are now 45-14, and the Magic are 31-28. The Pistons last five before this game: W-W-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.