04/19/26 09:41:00
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04/19 21:39 CDT Pistons open playoffs with a flop as East's top seed, losing to
8th-seeded Magic
Pistons open playoffs with a flop as East's top seed, losing to 8th-seeded Magic
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
DETROIT (AP) --- The Detroit Pistons opened the NBA playoffs with a flop.
Detroit went into the postseason as the top-seeded team in the Eastern
Conference, openly talking about exceeding modest expectations and winning the
franchise's fourth championship.
If the Pistons don't play better than they did in a 112-101 loss to Orlando on
Sunday night in Game 1, they might get knocked out in the first round again.
"We're sick about losing this one," Cade Cunningham said after scoring a
playoff career-high 39 points and not getting much help from his teammates.
"It's a long series."
Detroit, which has lost an NBA-record 11 straight home postseason games, hosts
the Magic again on Wednesday night.
The Pistons have not won a home playoff game since 2008, which is also the last
year they advanced in the playoffs.
They were sluggish early against the Magic and had a built-in excuse, playing
for the first time in a week.
"We didn't come out with the right energy," Cunningham said.
They were flat early in the third quarter, too, and that's tougher to explain.
"We were chasing them all night," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "We made some
runs to get ourselves back in the ballgame."
The Magic, meanwhile, looked ready to play just two nights after routing
Charlotte in an elimination game to earn a spot in the playoffs.
"They've been off and we've found a little bit of a rhythm," Magic coach Jamahl
Mosley said. "That always plays a part in it."
Detroit never had the lead.
Cunningham made a 3-pointer to pull the Pistons into a tie midway through the
third quarter, but they wasted the opportunity by giving up 14 of the next 17
points and couldn't recover.
Detroit finished with a season-low 31 baskets, connecting on just 40% of its
shots. Tobias Harris scored 17 points as the only double-digit scorer other
than Cunningham, but he missed 10 of 15 shots.
All-Star Jalen Duren, who averaged nearly 20 points in the regular season, was
limited to four shots and eight points.
"They packed the paint," Bickerstaff said. "They're going to put a bunch of
bodies in the paint to try to make it difficult on him."
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