Orlando Magic beat Detroit Pistons 94-88 at home on Monday, April 27 in a low-scoring game: just 182 combined points between the two teams.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Pistons struck first, taking the opening quarter 27-26 and a 1-point lead after one. The Magic moved in front with a 28-25 second quarter, carrying a 2-point lead into halftime.
The Magic won the third 21-17 to create some separation, taking a 6-point lead into the fourth. The teams matched each other with 19 points apiece in the fourth quarter, and the Magic closed regulation with a 94-88 lead.
What decided it
The Magic took better care of the ball, turning it over on 9.9% of possessions compared with 19.5% for the Pistons. The Magic grabbed 30.2% of their own misses, while the Pistons recovered 25%. Those extra possessions were crucial.
The Pistons did win one battle, shooting: eFG% of 41.5% against 37.5%. The Magic made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 102 possessions per team, the Magic produced 92.5 points per 100 possessions to 86.6 for the Pistons.
Who made the difference
Franz Wagner was the game's biggest individual force for ORL: 19 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl on 7-15 shooting. His Game Score of 18.5 led everyone. His team was +17 with him on the floor.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 20 pts, 6 reb, 0 ast on 8-17 shooting, good for a 12.2 Game Score.
Wendell Carter Jr. (12 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 51% for the Magic.
Across the last 10 meetings in our records, Orlando Magic lead 6-4.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.