DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 27 points, 11 assists and six rebounds to lead the top-seeded Detroit Pistons to a 98-83 win over the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, evening their first-round series and ending the longest home losing streak in NBA playoff history.
The Pistons had lost 11 straight home postseason games, a drought that started in 2008.
Detroit dominated the third quarter, turning a tie game into a rout by outscoring the Magic 38-16 in the period with six players scoring at least five points.
After Cunningham scored a career playoff-high 39 points in Game 1 and didn’t get much help, the All-Star guard had plenty of support, with five teammates scoring in double figures.
Jalen Suggs scored 19 points and Paolo Banchero had 18 for the Magic. They combined to miss 14 of 25 shots as the team shot 33% and was held to a season low in points.
Detroit’s Tobias Harris scored 16 points, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson had 11 each, and Duncan Robertson and Isaiah Stewart each scored 10. Robinson made three much-needed 3-pointers for a team that struggles with outside shooting.
Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane had 12 points apiece and Wendell Carter Jr. was limited to three points on 1-of-6 shooting after he scored 17 in the opener.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points and nine assists, and Oklahoma City defeated Phoenix to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points in the series-opening win on Sunday, going 5 for 18 from the field. He bounced back in Game 2 with 13-for-25 shooting after being presented the NBA Clutch Player of the Year trophy before the game.
Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each added 19 points for Oklahoma City, though Williams left the game in the third quarter with a left hamstring injury and did not return. Williams, an All-Star in 2024-25, missed 30 games this season with a right hamstring injury after missing the first 19 games of the season following surgery on his right wrist.
Five higher-seeded teams had lost home games in the first week of the playoffs before Wednesday, including the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference, Detroit, Boston and New York, and the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the West, San Antonio and Denver. Oklahoma City avoided that fate by shooting 47.3% from the field and forcing 21 turnovers.
Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 30 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Devin Booker scored 22 points and Jalen Green added 21 for Phoenix, which will host Game 3 on Saturday.