Pistons' Big Home Win
- The Detroit Pistons notched their first home playoff victory since 2008 in an early first-round game. (cbssports.com) - That milestone came during the April 22 slate that paired Orlando (8) vs. Detroit (1) at 6 p.m. ET. (jsonline.com) - The home win is an emotional early-round moment as top seeds try to turn advantages into quick series control. (espn.com)
Detroit ended an 18-year wait for a home playoff win on Wednesday night, beating Orlando 98-83 in Game 2 at Little Caesars Arena. (nba.com) The win tied the first-round series at 1-1 after Orlando, the East’s No. 8 seed, took Game 1 by a 112-101 score. Detroit entered the matchup as the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed after a 60-22 regular season. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) (espn.com) Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 27 points, 11 assists and six rebounds on 11-for-19 shooting. Tobias Harris added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Jalen Duren finished with 11 points and nine boards. (nba.com) Orlando shot 26-for-80 from the field, or 32.5%, and made 8 of 32 three-point attempts. Paolo Banchero scored 18 points, and Jalen Suggs had 19, but Franz Wagner finished with 12 on 4-for-11 shooting. (nba.com) The game turned in the third quarter, when Detroit ripped off a 30-3 run and seized control after trailing in the series. NBA.com’s official game page described it simply: “Big 3rd propels Pistons.” (usatoday.com) (nba.com) The result also stopped Detroit’s 11-game home playoff losing streak, which had stretched back to 2008 and stood as the longest such skid in NBA postseason history. Local television station WXYZ reported that fans poured into downtown Detroit to celebrate the first home playoff win for a new generation of Pistons supporters. (msn.com) (wxyz.com) That drought had outlasted multiple rebuilds, coaching changes and lottery seasons in Detroit. The 2025-26 team changed the frame of the franchise by finishing first in the East instead of scraping into the play-in field. (espn.com) (nba.com) The series now shifts to Orlando with home court no longer fully in Detroit’s hands, but no longer wasted either. After one loss and one emphatic response, the Pistons finally have a home playoff result that matches their top seed. (nba.com)
