Pistons cold from 3, careless with ball again in 111-99 loss to Magic
Detroit — The Detroit Pistons couldn't find their shot and it burned them in a 111-99 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.
Orlando is known as a stingy defense, entering today with the fourth-highest defensive rating in the league, with just Minnesota, Boston, and Cleveland ahead of them in that category. That showed throughout the game, as Detroit shot 46% from the field and just 26% from behind the arc, with Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser being the only Pistons to make more than one three.
It was another game where costly turnovers were the problem, with Detroit having 15 total, including four from Ivey.
"I thought we left our feet tonight to make plays, and it’s never there," Pistons head coach Monty Williams said. "You gotta have a plan when you get to the paint and I thought we were trying to make plays in the paint tonight, and we’ve been passing that thing out for shots, and we didn’t shoot a great percentage tonight, we certainly didn’t generate enough 3s, but 25% from three won’t cut it."
BOX SCORE: Magic 111, Pistons 99
No Piston scored more than 20, as Cade Cunningham and Ivey led Detroit with 18 points apiece. Ivey started out hot with 16 in the first half, but only scored two in the next 24 minutes of action.
“It’s a part of the game. Sometimes you start hot, and you just go cold. It’s part of it," Ivey said. "I should’ve shot more, honestly. I should’ve shot more; (there were) opportunities where I should’ve shot it, and I passed it and turned the ball over, so I gotta be better.”
Cunningham also was responsible for one of those costly turnovers. With the Pistons down six with just over two minutes remaining, he got stripped while being guarded by Jalen Suggs, which led to a Franz Wagner layup to put Orlando up eight with 2:25 left in the game.
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Meanwhile, Detroit couldn't put that same defensive pressure on the Magic as Orlando shot 53% from the field, including a hot fourth quarter where the Magic went 11-for-16 from the field and 5-for-7 from three, with Franz Wagner (Michigan) and Gary Harris (Michigan State) each making two 3s in the final quarter.
Orlando's Wagner made himself at home on the Pistons' home court, leading all scorers with 38 points and missing only seven shots all game. The former Michigan star also made four of Orlando's 10 3s.
"When you put bigger guys on him, they have to create some distance to see the floor. He can see the floor, and then he’s got a big eurostep," Williams said. "Tonight, he just blew by us and got to the rim, but he’s a pretty efficient pick-and-roll player and he has a good feel."
But as a bright spot to the game, Ausar Thompson showed off with 17 points in 27 minutes of action after having just three points in 26 minutes Friday night against the Clippers. He had seven total rebounds, with four offensive rebounds that led to a few put-back dunks, as that activity on the glass is something that has stood out for the rookie all season.
"I thought (Thompson) did a decent job staying in front of the ball … he had deflections and a few blocked shots, and then offensively he was attacking the rim. I want him to keep shooting the ball, I thought he turned down a few shots tonight, but when he did attack the rim, he was pretty productive,” Williams said.
Thompson led with nine points in the third as Detroit kept it close, but there were times in his minutes where he elected to drive into traffic instead of taking an open corner shot, even though he made one of the three 3-point attempts from the corner spot.
“I was comfortable out there, just trying to be aggressive, it would’ve been great if we got the win, but I’m just taking little wins from it,” Thompson said.
Jalen Duren had 15 points and five rebounds, but was limited to 26 minutes of action after picking up his fourth foul in the middle of the third quarter, as he sat out until midway through the fourth quarter.
This will be the last home game in Detroit for the next couple of weeks, as they'll be on the road for the next six games before returning back home after the All-Star break facing Orlando again on Feb. 24.
Kameron Goodwill is a freelance writer.