Orlando Magic beat Detroit Pistons 112-101 on the road on Sunday, April 19, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Magic had the better start, winning the first 35-27 to lead by 8 after one. The Pistons cut into the deficit with a 24-20 second quarter, though the Magic still led by 4 at halftime.
The Magic won the third 26-23 to create some separation, taking a 7-point lead into the fourth. The Magic took the fourth 31-27; the Magic finished the job for a 112-101 regulation win.
What decided it
The Magic grabbed 25% of their own misses, while the Pistons recovered 15%. The Magic got more from their shots, finishing at 54.4% effective field-goal shooting compared with 46.8% for the Pistons. The second chances kept adding up.
The Pistons did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 37.7 against 15.6. The Magic made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 101 possessions per team, the Magic produced 111.4 points per 100 possessions to 100.5 for the Pistons.
Who made the difference
Cade Cunningham was the game's biggest individual force for DET: 39 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast on 13-27 shooting. His Game Score of 26.2 led everyone. His team was -1 with him on the floor.
Wendell Carter Jr. led the Magic with 17 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast on 8-9 shooting, good for a 22.2 Game Score.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Magic entered with about a 20% chance.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Orlando Magic lead 4-3.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.