Pistons beat Magic 116-94

Detroit finally broke through. The Pistons didn’t just edge past Orlando in Game 7 on Sunday, May 3 — they ran the Magic off the floor, 116-94, and turned a tense first-round series into a statement win. That matters because this franchise has spent years stuck in rebuild mode, and because Detroit had been down 3-1 in the series before ripping off three straight wins. Now the Pistons are in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2008. ### How did Detroit win this so easily? It started with shot-making, but the real story was control. Detroit shot 51% from the field and 48% from 3, while Orlando never found a clean offensive rhythm and finished at 41% overall. The Pistons also won the rebounding battle 41-33, moved the ball for 30 assists, and turned the game into a steady avalanche instead of a late scramble. ### Who carried the offense? Cade Cunningham was the engine. He finished with 32 points and 12 assists, which is the kind of line that bends an entire defense around one player. But this wasn’t a one-man rescue job — Tobias Harris poured in 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting and hit 5 of 7 from deep. When Orlando loaded up on Cunningham, Harris made them pay. ### Why did that matter so much here? Because this game wasn’t won only on the perimeter. Duren gave Detroit 15 points and 15 rebounds, including six offensive boards, and that changed the texture of the night. Orlando couldn’t finish a defensive possession cleanly, and Detroit kept turning misses into second chances. Basically, Duren made the game feel heavier for the Magic on every trip. ### What happened to Orlando? Paolo Banchero got his numbers — 38 points — but the rest of the attack never really joined him. Franz Wagner scored 13. Jalen Suggs had 16. Orlando as a team committed 13 turnovers and got outscored badly when Detroit’s main group was on the floor. In a Game 7, one star scoring alone usually isn’t enough, and that’s exactly what this looked like. ### Was the comeback the bigger story? Honestly, yes. Detroit was staring at a 3-1 series hole and looked close to done. Then the Pistons won Game 5 at home, stole Game 6 in Orlando, and came back to Detroit to dominate Game 7. That’s the part that changes how this run will be remembered — not as a lucky escape, but as a team that got punched, adjusted, and got stronger. ### What changed for this franchise? The drought is over. Detroit hadn’t won a playoff series in 18 years, which is long enough for an entire era of fans to never really see the Pistons matter in May. This group just gave the franchise its first postseason series win since beating Orlando in 2008. That doesn’t make Detroit a title favorite overnight, but it does make the rebuild feel real instead of theoretical. ### What comes next against Cleveland? The second round starts fast. Detroit hosts Cleveland in Game 1 on Tuesday, May 5, at 7 p.m. Eastern, then Game 2 stays in Detroit on Thursday, May 7, before the series shifts to Cleveland. That matchup is interesting because both teams had to survive Game 7s just to get here, so nobody is entering fresh. ### Bottom line Detroit didn’t just survive a Game 7 — it announced itself. Cunningham looked like the star, Harris looked like the veteran stabilizer, and Duren gave the Pistons the muscle underneath it all. The reward is Cleveland, and a much harder test. But the bigger change already happened — the Pistons are relevant again.