ORLANDO – The Detroit Pistons can’t get out of their own way.
The self-inflicted mistakes piled up in their 113-105 loss to the Orlando Magic in Game 3 on Saturday, April 25. Too many turnovers and fouls. Not enough offensive rebounds and second efforts. And an overall lack of urgency against a Magic team that, despite being an 8-seed, is proving to be talented enough to upset the top-seeded Pistons.
Now facing a 2-1 series deficit after dropping Game 1 last week, it’s clear the Pistons are dealing with more than just rust. They’re disconnected, discombobulated and have yet to resemble a team coming off of a 60-win season, save for a couple of spurts.
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Cade Cunningham, who had nine of their 24 turnovers and struggled to hit shots until the fourth quarter, took responsibility for the loss. But they need more from everyone, including All-Star center Jalen Duren.
“Me, I’ll start with me,” Cunningham, who finished with 27 points on 34.8% shooting and nine assists, said in a quiet locker room after the game. “I have the ball most of the time, so just being sharp with the ball. Make sure I set everybody where I need them first. And then obviously they’re collapsing and stuff. From there, I’ve gotta be sharp with the ball and sharp getting the ball out clean and allow my teammates to make plays.
“It all starts with me, I have to be better about organizing us and making sure we’re getting shots on the rim.”
It took more than three quarters for the Pistons to show up on Saturday. They committed seven turnovers in the opening quarter and gave up three offensive rebounds within the first few minutes. The Magic ended the night with a 14-10 edge on the offensive glass and 19-17 advantage in second chance points. They also scored 24 points off of the Pistons’ turnovers.
Other than Ausar Thompson, who had a dazzling performance on both ends – 17 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and two steals – the Pistons have few positives to take from the game.
Their best stretch came in the fourth quarter, after they fell behind 96-79. Cunningham led a late 26-8 run and split a trip at the free throw line to give them the lead briefly, 105-104. It ended up being the Pistons' final point, with 2:52 to play. Franz Wagner answered with a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer, and Paolo Banchero added a dagger 3-pointer that bounced high off of the rim before falling through the net.
It appeared Orlando would run away with the game before the Pistons rallied. Similar to their Game 2 win which featured a 30-3 run in the third quarter, they looked like the better team when they played to their standard. The issue is that, for most of the series, they’ve been far below that standard.
A general view inside the Kia Center of T-shirts in the seats before the Orlando Magic host the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.A general view inside the Kia Center before the Orlando Magic host the Detroit Pistons prior to Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff speaks with media during his pregame press conference prior to Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley speaks with media during his pregame press conference prior to Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Detroit Pistons at the Kia Center on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.1 / 4Pistons and Magic battle for playoff series lead in Game 3 in OrlandoA general view inside the Kia Center of T-shirts in the seats before the Orlando Magic host the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.1 / 4Pistons and Magic battle for playoff series lead in Game 3 in OrlandoA general view inside the Kia Center of T-shirts in the seats before the Orlando Magic host the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.2 / 4Pistons and Magic battle for playoff series lead in Game 3 in OrlandoA general view inside the Kia Center before the Orlando Magic host the Detroit Pistons prior to Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.3 / 4Pistons and Magic battle for playoff series lead in Game 3 in OrlandoDetroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff speaks with media during his pregame press conference prior to Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.4 / 4Pistons and Magic battle for playoff series lead in Game 3 in OrlandoOrlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley speaks with media during his pregame press conference prior to Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Detroit Pistons at the Kia Center on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Orlando.“Intensity,” Thompson said of what they lacked through the first three periods. “I felt like the whole game I felt like we were playing from behind. We let them get the lead to 10 a bunch of times, similar to Game 1. Just having more intensity and not being in catch-up mode.”
It was another anemic effort from Duren, who has struggled through three games. He finished with eight points (on 3-for-10 shooting), nine rebounds and five blocks. The rim protection was improved compared to the first two games. Offensively, though, his presence wasn’t felt. Two of his buckets were from alley-oop lobs, and he otherwise was unable to establish his footing in the post and didn’t convert looks at the rim that were gimmes during the regular season.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff went with Paul Reed over Duren early in the third quarter after Duren gave up an uncontested dunk to Banchero. That was shortly after he had the ball poked away in the post by Wagner the previous possession. Duren returned to help lead the fourth-quarter push before fouling out with 1:09 to go.
Reed, who always plays with urgency, was active and scored two buckets with five rebounds in just seven minutes despite racking up fouls quickly. Duren is averaging nine points on 41.7% shooting through three games – far below his regular average of 19.5 points on 65% shooting.
Beyond the careless mistakes, the Pistons also have had issues sustaining good offense. Without Duren providing scoring as a second option, the offense has been prone to dry spells.
“He’s confident,” Cuningham said of Duren. “These last three games haven’t been what he wants or what we might want for him. I and the whole team have no doubt he’s going to figure it out and he knows he’s going to figure it out. Excited for the next game for him to plant his foot in this series.”
If there’s reason to feel encouraged, it’s that the Pistons have kept the margin close in their losses despite their poor play. They have vast room for improvement heading into Game 4, a must-win for a team now fighting to avoid a big upset in the first round.
“It’s one game at a time, and that’s what playoff series are,” Bickerstaff said. “We come down here, we win on Monday, we take home court advantage back. Today’s game, we’ll learn from it. But it’s over with and it gives us more opportunities, more film to watch, more time to prepare, to get ready for Monday.
“But you can’t hang onto it and our guys have been consistent all year, that we’ve been able to move on from the next. I trust our guys that we’ll focus on it, we’ll learn from it, we’ll study it, we’ll get better at it and then Monday, we’ll be ready to go.”