The Detroit Pistons once again turned in a lackluster performance, and now their season is one loss away from ending early.
The 1-seed Pistons fell to the 8-seed Orlando Magic 94-88 in Game 4 of their first-round series in the NBA playoffs on Monday, April 27, at Kia Center in Orlando. Cade Cunningham once again led all scorers with 25 points, but the Pistons also recorded 20 turnovers, and blew an opportunity to steal Game 4 on the road.
The Magic now have a 3-1 series lead with Game 5 on Wednesday night in Detroit, when the Pistons will try to avoid becoming just the seventh 1-seed in NBA history to lose a first-round matchup against an 8-seed.
SHAWN WINDSOR: No doubt any more: Pistons overwhelmed by Magic
Here were the emotional reactions from fans and NBA media to Game 4 of Pistons-Magic:
The Pistons should've traded for someone better than Huerter. It was so obvious at the time. They could have had Ayo Dosunmu! Detroit has all of their future 1sts. Didn't use one. No guarantee they'll ever be in a better position than this year to make a push for the Finals.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) April 28, 2026
alternatively, this series proves Trajan was right to not give up anything meaningful at the deadline. Too many holes to fill for one trade to solve it all.
At media day, Trajan and JB said they wanted to see what this group could do in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the pistons are getting their answer.
It's amazing to watch this series and see every reason the talking heads did not respect them as a number one seed play out.
20 turnovers in a series altering game cannot happen.The Pistons are going to have one hell of a mirror looking session ahead of them.
— Keith Black Trudeau (@Charlottean28) April 28, 2026
Walking away from this series hating the pistons more than the Magic
Yeah man, Paul Reed and Isaiah Stewart need to close this game. You cannot survive this.
Genuinely no need to see Duren again for the rest of this series
The Magic are running a Shutter Island-style experiment where Jalen Suggs and everyone around Jalen Suggs runs the offense like he's their best player.
Detroit on pace for 100 turnovers and Orlando missing 3s by 15 feet this is real hoops
— Basketball University (@UofBasketball) April 28, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons messed up trade deadline, and more reactions from Game 4 choke