Pistons aren't tough enough in loss to Magic

Orlando — It didn't have the drama of the last match-up in Detroit eight days ago, but the latest meeting between the Pistons and Orlando Magic yielded a similar level of physicality that wasn't matched by the visiting team.

Orlando's length and interior scoring made for a difficult night for the Pistons, who suffered a 113-91 loss on Sunday night in the newly-renamed Kia Center (formerly Amway Center).

Detroit entered halftime trailing by nine, but that deficit quickly grew to 26 in a six-minute span after the Magic started the second half on a 20-3 run. During this time, Detroit missed eight of its first nine shots. Meanwhile, Orlando connected on seven of its first nine shots to begin the third quarter. The brutal stretch of basketball was the beginning of another lopsided loss for the Pistons, who dropped to 9-51 on the season.

The Pistons will finish the season winless against the Magic, which improved to 35-26.

Pistons coach Monty Williams credited Orlando for its toughness during his postgame press conference.

"It was a lot," Williams said. "It had everything to do with their success tonight. I didn't think we handled that well. We've played against physical teams all year and we handled it better than we did tonight. ... The physicality and not getting a call that we thought we should've. We spent too much time talking to the referees. I addressed that with the guys just now. It's taking away from how we can play and how competitive we can be."

Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero, who nailed the winning basket at Little Caesars Arena about a week ago, scored a game-high 29 with eight rebounds and five assists. It was a better shooting night than the last game against the Pistons for the second-year forward, who made 10-of-16 from the field and connected on eight of his nine free-throw attempts. Wendell Carter Jr. added 19 points and eight rebounds. Markelle Fultz led the Magic's bench with 16 points without missing any of his eight shots.

Orlando scored 68 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 48-28. Detroit struggled to score, especially inside the paint (40 points) and connected on 33-of-86 from the field.

Evan Fournier, who played seven seasons for the Magic from 2014-21, led Detroit with 17 points and five assists off the bench. Simone Fontecchio added 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. Fournier and Fontecchio are reliable scorers, but that said it all for how the Pistons' starting unit struggled to find any offensive continuity.

BOX SCORE: Magic 113, Pistons 91

Jalen Duren led the starters with 11 points and four rebounds. Isaiah Stewart added 10 points and four rebounds. Jaden Ivey had 10 points, but his shooting struggles continued as he failed to make any of his five 3-point attempts. Cade Cunningham was also limited to nine points and seven assists on 4-of-12 shooting.

Pistons coach Monty Williams hinted at changing his rotation following Friday's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The first glimpse of the new combination occurred midway through the first quarter. To avoid his recent inefficient all-bench unit, Stewart was the first starter to sub out of the game at the 5:49 mark, in place of Fontecchio.

Williams brought Stewart back at the center position to replace Duren at the 3:01 mark of the first quarter. He played alongside a unit of Marcus Sasser, Fournier, Fontecchio and Troy Brown Jr. until the second quarter, when Jaden Ivey joined the group to begin the period.

Malachi Flynn was the odd one out of the rotation. Flynn did not play, but James Wiseman entered the game with 3:26 left in the third quarter as the Pistons trailed by 26. Wiseman scored upon entry as he led a one-man fast break that resulted in an easy layup. It was Detroit's second field goal of the third quarter, which was accompanied by a turnaround jumper by Ausar Thompson and 3-pointers by Fontecchio and Fournier. Wiseman totaled eight points and three rebounds.

"It was OK," Williams said when asked about the rotation. "Stewie at the (center), the first play we run for him is a pick-and-pop. He knocks down a 3. He gave us some physicality in the paint. We just didn't shoot the ball well as a team to really punish them for how they were playing us in pick-and-roll. I like the ability to go back-and-forth because (Fontecchio) can guard. ... The ability to bring Tek in and take Stewie out and then bring Stewie back is something we're going to look at."

Williams also mentioned that Sunday's combination doesn't mean Wiseman is out of the rotation and admitted that having three big men is beneficial in today's game.

Pistons guard Quentin Grimes was downgraded to questionable 4 1/2 hours before the game and did not play because of right knee soreness. Sasser returned to the lineup after missing the last four games because of a right knee contusion. He reprised his role as backup point guard, but finished with three points in 25 minutes. He checked into the game at the 3:01 mark of the first quarter, but struggled offensively as he missed his first six shot attempts before he buried a 3-pointer with 1:44 left.

The Pistons' two-game trip in Florida continues with a visit to Miami on Tuesday.

mcurtis@detroitnews.com

@MikeACurtis2