Detroit Pistons beat Orlando Magic 98-83 at home on Wednesday, April 22 in a low-scoring game: just 181 combined points between the two teams.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Pistons struck first, taking the opening quarter 25-21 and a 4-point lead after one. The Magic pulled even with a 25-21 second quarter, sending the game to halftime tied at 46.
The Pistons won the third 38-16 to turn the game around, taking a 22-point lead into the fourth. The Magic took the fourth 21-14; the Pistons held on for a 98-83 regulation win.
What decided it
The Pistons got more from their shots, finishing at 49.4% effective field-goal shooting compared with 37.5% for the Magic. The Pistons grabbed 37% of their own misses, while the Magic recovered 24.5%. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Magic did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 28.7 against 16.5. The Pistons made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 99 possessions per team, the Pistons produced 98.7 points per 100 possessions to 83.6 for the Magic.
Who made the difference
Cade Cunningham was the game's biggest individual force for DET: 27 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast on 11-19 shooting. His Game Score of 19.9 led everyone. His team was +16 with him on the floor.
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 18 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast on 7-17 shooting, good for a 11.6 Game Score.
Tobias Harris (16 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast) and Cade Cunningham (27 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Pistons about a 76% chance.
Across the last 8 meetings in our records, Orlando Magic lead 5-3.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.