DETROIT — The Motor City’s basketball hopes took an early hit as the Detroit Pistons stumbled in their playoff opener Sunday evening.
Entering the postseason as the Eastern Conference’s number one seed, Detroit had been vocal about surpassing expectations and capturing the organization’s fourth NBA title. However, their championship aspirations face an early test after falling 112-101 to the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic at home.
The defeat puts additional pressure on a franchise that could face another first-round elimination if their performance doesn’t improve dramatically.
“We’re sick about losing this one,” said Cade Cunningham, who delivered a playoff career-best 39 points but received minimal assistance from his supporting cast. “It’s a long series.”
The loss extends Detroit’s troubling postseason home record, as they’ve now dropped 11 consecutive playoff games on their own court — an NBA record. The Pistons will have another opportunity to break that streak when they welcome Orlando back on Wednesday evening.
Detroit hasn’t secured a home playoff victory since 2008, which coincidentally marks the last time the franchise advanced beyond the first round.
The Pistons appeared lethargic from the opening tip against Orlando, with rust potentially playing a factor after sitting idle for seven days.
“We didn’t come out with the right energy,” Cunningham acknowledged.
Detroit’s struggles continued into the third quarter, presenting a more concerning pattern for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
“We were chasing them all night,” Bickerstaff explained. “We made some runs to get ourselves back in the ballgame.”
In contrast, Orlando appeared sharp and focused despite playing just 48 hours after eliminating Charlotte in a decisive playoff-clinching victory.
“They’ve been off and we’ve found a little bit of a rhythm,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley observed. “That always plays a part in it.”
The Pistons never held an advantage throughout the contest. Cunningham’s three-point shot briefly tied the game during the third quarter, but Detroit squandered the momentum by surrendering 14 of the following 17 points and couldn’t mount a comeback.
Detroit managed just 31 field goals for the entire game — a season low — while shooting a disappointing 40 percent from the floor. Tobias Harris contributed 17 points as the only other Piston to reach double figures besides Cunningham, though he struggled with accuracy, missing 10 of his 15 attempts.
All-Star center Jalen Duren, who averaged nearly 20 points during the regular season, was held to just eight points on four shot attempts.
“They packed the paint,” Bickerstaff noted. “They’re going to put a bunch of bodies in the paint to try to make it difficult on him.”
