Detroit rallies from 24 down with 55–17 finish to force Game 7

The game was basically over — until it wasn’t. Detroit went into Orlando on Friday night, fell behind by 24 points, then ripped the whole script apart with a 93-79 win in Game 6. Now the Pistons have forced Game 7 in a series that looked like it was about to become a first-round disaster for a No. 1 seed. (msn.com) ### How bad did it get? Very bad. Orlando led 62-38 about 25 minutes into the game. That’s not a normal playoff hole, especially on the road, especially with elimination staring at you. Detroit had no rhythm, Orlando looked faster and more physical, and the building was ready for a closeout. Then the game flipped so hard it barely resembled the first half. (abcnews.com) ### What changed first? Defense. Not some abstract “energy” thing — actual stops, over and over. Detroit held Orlando to 17 points over the final 23 minutes, including just 8 in the fourth quarter. ESPN’s recap notes that the Magic produced the fewest points in a half in NBA playoff history, which tells you this was not just a cold stretch but a full offensive collapse. (espn.com) ### Who carried Detroit? Cade Cunningham was the engine. He finished with 32 points and kept Detroit alive long enough for the defense to turn the game. Once the comeback started to feel real, the Pistons stopped playing like a team trying to survive and started playing like the higher seed again — patient on off(espn.com)rlando. (espn.com) ### How extreme was the run? The cleanest way to see it is this split: Orlando 62, Detroit 38 through the first 25 minutes; Detroit 55, Orlando 17 the rest of the way. That’s the whole story. USA Today also framed the heart of it as a 34-4 burst, while another recap described a 51-13 takeover. The ex(espn.com)nto the game, it steamrolled the finish. (abcnews.com) ### Why does this feel bigger than one win? Because the alternative was ugly. Detroit was the top seed in this East first-round matchup, and losing at Orlando would have made the Pistons just the 38th team ever to force a Game 7 after trailing 3(abcnews.com)ure shifted to the Magic. (clickondetroit.com) ### What happened to Orlando? The simple answer came from Paolo Banchero after the game: Detroit went on a huge run, and Orlando stopped scoring. But the bigger issue is that the Magic never found a counter once the(clickondetroit.com) error. Orlando burned through all of it. (clickorlando.com) ### So what does Game 7 look like now? Wide open — but emotionally tilted toward Detroit. Momentum is a fuzzy word, and Game 7s don’t hand out points for what happened two days earlier. Still, the Pistons just proved they(clickorlando.com)It’s about whether Orlando can recover from one of the nastiest collapses of the round. (nba.com) ### Bottom line Detroit didn’t just save its season. It changed the story of the series in 23 brutal minutes. Now Game 7 is less about seeding and more about nerve.