Detroit, MI
Pistons encounter rare road block in loss to Magic
Orlando — The Detroit Pistons have proven to be one of the top road teams in the league this season, with several contributing factors.
Cade Cunningham headlines a group of players who have made significant individual improvements while aligning with the team’s embrace of the “Detroit versus everybody” mentality. Every time they step onto an opponent’s home court, coach J.B. Bickerstaff attributed the team’s togetherness and strong relationships to its success on the road.
“The benefits include being with the group,” Bickerstaff stated while discussing the advantages of an extended road trip. “There are not any of the other distractions. When you are in the hotels, you go to lunch together. You go to dinner together — you go to practice and lift weights together. It gives you an opportunity to bond and become even tighter. When you are on the road, that is what you need and how you become successful.”
Saturday’s contest against the Orlando Magic positioned the Pistons in the latter half of their season-longest five-game road trip. However, despite their success away from Little Caesars Arena, the Pistons fell 121-113 at Kia Center. The loss ended Detroit’s four-game road winning streak and dropped their overall record to 23-22.
Six players scored in double figures, with Cunningham leading the way with a game-high 35 points, 11 assists and five rebounds. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons received a significant boost from rookie Ron Holland II. In 15 minutes, he scored 13 points and pulled down four rebounds. Holland’s contributions coincided with those of Ausar Thompson, who added 16 points, five rebounds, four steals and a block amid a season-high 29 minutes.
“I feel great; it feels good to have reached almost the 30-minute mark,” Thompson said. “I feel great. I feel conditioned. However many minutes they need me to play, I’ll be ready to play.”
Despite the loss, the Pistons showcased their close-knit chemistry during the first quarter. After a sluggish start by both teams, Detroit began to surge halfway through the period, taking a 30-18 lead into the second quarter. They began the night shooting 43.5% from the field and hitting four of eight 3-pointers.
Injuries have derailed the Magic’s once-promising season. They entered the night on a five-game losing streak, having dropped seven of their last eight. Coach Jamahl Mosley has used his preferred starting lineup for the sixth time this season due to the ongoing injuries of Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner’s extended absences.
BOX SCORE: Magic 121, Pistons 113
Banchero led the Magic with 32 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists and was vital in Orlando’s comeback during the first half. He scored 11 points in the second quarter and was essential in the Magic outscoring the Pistons 25-12 in the final six minutes. By intermission, they held a 54-53 lead.
Banchero missed the first two games against Detroit due to a torn oblique. His third triple of the game gave the Magic an 84-81 lead early in the fourth quarter, igniting a 20-4 run.
Wagner (32 points, seven assists and four rebounds) appeared in his second game after returning from his respective oblique injury. His 3-point field goal at the 9:11 mark of the fourth quarter extended the Magic’s lead to 93-83. He scored 25 points in the final period. Orlando also saw the return of Suggs (eight points), who missed the last 10 games due to a back injury.
Frustration reached a breaking point midway through the fourth quarter when Bickerstaff received consecutive technical fouls, resulting in his ejection at the 6:01 mark. Detroit finished with four technical fouls.
“I thought we did a lot of good things,” Bickerstaff said. “But I thought there were some moments where we shot ourselves in the foot when we had momentum going. We got outside of ourselves. These games against teams like this are going to be extremely physical. We understand that. We are good with that. Just make sure we maintain the physicality and do not allow the officials to become a part of the game because we take it too far.”
Observations and Notes vs. Magic
▶ Magic earns tie-breaker over Pistons: With this loss, the Pistons lose the regular-season series against the Magic 2-1, losing the tie-breaker.
▶ Harris and Suggs get into a minor altercation: At the 8:55 mark of the first quarter, Tobias Harris was assessed a flagrant foul penalty 1 following a brief altercation with Suggs. The incident occurred when Suggs intentionally collided with Harris during a change of possession. Harris reacted to Suggs’ aggression by shoving him to the floor. However, the Magic did not prosper from Suggs’ actions; he missed both free throws and committed a turnover during Orlando’s offensive possession.
▶ Head injury for Tobias Harris: Harris’ night ended early after he suffered a head injury. Two minutes into the third quarter, he was struck in the jaw during a shot attempt by Banchero. Bickerstaff substituted Harris after he fell to the floor. Following a quick evaluation from the team doctors, Harris walked to the back and did not return.
▶ A tough night for Stew: Isaiah Stewart faced a challenging game in Orlando. The physical nature of the match led to foul trouble for Stewart in the first half, limiting his usual impact off the bench. He also found himself in multiple altercations with several players from Orlando.
Up next
The Pistons will travel to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Monday night. They will then close the road trip in Indiana on Wednesday when they will face the Pacers. Tip-off between the Pistons and Cavaliers is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Coty.Davis@detroitnews.com
@cotydavis_24
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DETROIT – What started as a seemingly routine home repair quickly unraveled into something far more troubling for one Detroit family.
A man appeared to be posing as a contractor — arriving in construction gear and accompanied by two teens — showed up April 7 at a west side Detroit home, offering to do brick work for about $300. But according to the homeowner’s daughter, the situation started to seem fishy — and expensive — fast.
Tameka Kelly said the trio told her 76-year-old mother they were with “State Line Construction” and began working almost immediately.
“I just felt used and taken advantage of,” Kelly said, looking back at the situation.
“They kept working — kept putting cement down, I said, ‘you might want to tell them to stop.’ He said, ‘well right now it’s $1129.’ I said, ‘my mother‘s not paying you $1000,’” Kelly said.
At one point, the man even offered to repair the bottom of the home’s wheelchair ramp — something Kelly said her sister, who lives with her mother, relies on daily. But she refused because something just didn’t sit right.
“I gave him the $300,” Kelly said, hoping they would just leave. “I thought, well, he knows where my mom lives. I don’t want him coming back trying to do something to my mom‘s house or something to our vehicles.”
Kelly later tried to confront the man, who identified himself as Brian Lopez, and called the number on the invoice.
“When I called he was like, ‘no no no brickwork no brickwork’ I said, ‘yes you did. You were just here. I said I don’t forget a voice,’” she said.
But the biggest red flag came when she looked closer at the address listed on the invoice.
The address — 70 West Maple in Troy — turned out to be a McDonald’s.
“I really got upset when I found out that address was to a McDonald’s,” Kelly said.
Initially, Kelly said when she tried to file a report with Detroit police, she said they told her the situation was a civil matter and she could not file one. She then filed a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
Now, Detroit police tell Local 4 they will be taking Kelly’s fraud report, and once that is completed, an investigation will follow.
State Line initially told Local 4 they were not familiar with a Brian Lopez, then an attorney for State Line construction told Local 4 that, after checking the company’s records, there is no Brian Lopez that works for the company. As a matter of fact, the attorney said, State Line Construction does not do cement or residential construction. He said they focus on electrical work.
Attempts by Local 4 to reach the man going by the name Brian Lopez with the number given were unsuccessful.
Kelly said she felt compelled to speak up to prevent others from falling victim.
“I’m really upset about it, and I don’t want it to happen to anybody else,” she said.
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Pistons vs Magic Game 1 reaction, lessons learned and what must change
Omari Sankofa II, Shawn Windsor and special guest Bryce Simon react to Detroit Pistons’ Game 1 NBA playoff loss to Orlando Magic, April 19, 2026, at Little Caesars Arena.
How in the world did things get so bad so fast for the Detroit Pistons?
In just one outing in the 2026 NBA playoffs, they went from top-seeded darlings of the Eastern Conference to punching bags punked by an 8-seed short on rest but long on resilience and toughness.
“I would say they ‘outphysical-ed’ us today,” Pistons wing Ausar Thompson said after the Orlando Magic stole Game 1 of the first-round NBA playoff series, 112-101, at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday, April 19. “One, because they got more rebounds than us. They forced more turnovers.”
Yes, this was always going to be a physical series. Though you would think the Pistons, owners of the NBA’s second-best defense and playing at home, would have a sizable advantage.
It also should have helped them that they were coming off six days’ rest, as opposed to the Magic coming off winning a play-in game just 47 hours earlier.
It didn’t help that Pistons star Cade Cunnigham was playing in just his fourth game since suffering a collapsed lung and missing 11 games. He scored a game-high 39 points, but he didn’t operate as smoothly as usual, with just four assists (far off his 9.9-assist season average) while committing three turnovers.
Another indictment of the Pistons’ worrisome play: Tobias Harris (19 points) was Cunningham’s only teammate who scored in double digits. Meanwhile, all five Magic staters did so, led by Paolo Banchero’s 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting.
And just like that, the Magic came out firing, scoring 35 points in the first quarter and never trailing.
“Yeah, just that we came out a little too tight, lax, whatever the word is, maybe both for some of us, but just didn’t come out with the right energy,” Cunningham said. “Gave them life further on. And then, you know, we had to deal with that for the rest of the game. We were better in stints, but can’t dig a hole like that.”
He’s right. The Pistons can’t dig a hole like that in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Because if they do, and they lose, the Magic would not only have homecourt advantage – they got that with Sunday’s victory – but could close out the series without another win in Detroit, with three of the next four games coming in Orlando.
That’s precisely what makes Game 2 a must-win game for the Pistons. It’s bad enough they lost the opener at LCA, where they were 31-9. But now they’ve let the Magic set a hard-edged tone in the kind of the game that could lead them to steal the series.
“I know that they feel great about this game,” Cunningham said. “This was a big win for them. They came in, they handled their business and stole one on the road. That’s what you want to do in the playoff series.
“So I’m sure that they feel great about that. Obviously, we’re sick about losing this one. It’s a long series, though. There’s no confidence dropped from us. We know that team. They know us. So it’ll be a long, fun series.”
Cunningham might be right, because the Pistons are arguably the better team. They have enough talent and more depth.
What the Pistons don’t have is the advantage of desperation. They had an excellent season from start to finish, closed with a 60-22 record, and wrapped up the East’s top seed on April 4.
The Magic, meanwhile, have been playing with fire (and not always the good kind) down the stretch, while their fifth-year coach, Jamahl Mosley, entered the postseason on the hottest of hot seats after his squad went 0-7 in road playoff games over the past two seasons.
To make things even worse, the Magic lost the regular-season finale to the Boston Celtics – well, their reserves, at least – to blow their chance at the 7-seed and homecourt in the play-in tournament. Then Orlando lost to the Philadelphia 76ers (on the road, of course) in the first play-in game before beating the Charlotte Hornets (in Orlando) to advance to a best-of-seven series – featuring four road games – vs. the Pistons.
Now, it looks like the Magic have found their form, as they routed the Hornets, 121-90, and stunned the Pistons. And just like that, Mosley went from hot seat to just plain hot.
Banchero wouldn’t go so far as to say the victory set up his team to steal the series, but he didn’t deny it was exactly the kind of start Orlando needed.
“It’s just a good win for us as a team getting it on the road against a great team and 1-seed,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we got to come back Wednesday, you know, reciprocate it, you know?
“They’re not going to lay down. They’re going to turn it up. So we’ve got to be ready for that. And it’s just one-game-at-a-time mentality, you know? That’s what it’s got to be. It’s the first of four.”
Yes, it’s just the first of four wins the Magic needs to advance. If the Pistons don’t find an answer quickly, the math – and hardly anyone else – won’t be on their side when they head to Central Florida this weekend.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
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