Orlando, Fla. — Duncan Robinson opened the third quarter with a 3-point field goal and was fouled by Desmond Bane. It was a much-needed four-point swing for the Detroit Pistons, who entered the halftime break down 61-54 to the Orlando Magic. His basket gave the Pistons hope that they would repeat their third-quarter dominance from Wednesday night, when the Pistons embarked on a 30-3 run to take a 98-83 Game 2 victory.
Despite their disappointment with the results, the Magic remained composed as they left Detroit and believed they had established solid momentum as the series moved to their home court. At the 6:08 mark of the fourth quarter, the Pistons trailed the Magic by 17 points (96-79). At the time, it appeared Detroit was on the verge of a blowout loss. However, just 48 hours later, the Pistons reclaimed their dominance with a late-game rally.
They went on a 16-5 run during the quarter, which reached its pinnacle when Cade Cunningham nailed a stepback 3-point field goal at the 3:14 mark of the period, tying the game at 104. On the next possession, he gave the Pistons a 105-104 lead after going 1 of 2 from the foul line.
Detroit had all the momentum, but following back-to-back baskets by Magic forward Franz Wagner (17 points), the Pistons lost their advantage down the stretch, which resulted in a 113-105 Game 3 loss, Saturday afternoon inside Kia Center. With the loss, the Pistons trail the Magic 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Cunningham led the Pistons with 27 points and nine assists. Tobias Harris added 23 points in the loss. Ausar Thompson had one of his best all-around performances of the season with 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
From flagrant fouls to unfavorable calls made by the officials, the Pistons faced multiple challenges in Game 3. One of their major blunders occurred on defense.
They allowed Desmond Bane to find a rhythm, leading the Magic with 25 points on 7 of 9 shooting from behind the arc. Through the first two games, Bane was averaging 14.5 points while shooting 29.0% from the field and 20.0% from beyond the arc. With Bane leading the way, the Magic excelled from long range, shooting 40.0% and making 12 3-pointers. Bane was one of two players who hit multiple three-pointers, while Jalen Suggs contributed 15 points, shooting 3 for 8 from beyond the arc.
He scored 12 points in the second quarter, which was when the Magic created most of their separation. The Pistons' defense allowed the Magic to tie their highest scoring quarter of the series with 35 points. Paolo Banchero also finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Pistons fight back from 17 down, but fall to Orlando Magic