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ORLANDO, Fla. — In an intense showdown Monday night, Desmond Bane led the charge with 22 points as the Orlando Magic secured a 94-88 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Franz Wagner contributed 19 points over three quarters, as the Magic moved to a commanding 3-1 lead in their series, leaving the Eastern Conference’s top seed teetering on the edge of elimination.
The series continues with Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday night in Detroit.
Orlando is poised to make history by becoming only the seventh No. 8 seed to topple a No. 1 seed in a playoff series. Achieving this feat has only occurred four times since the playoffs adopted a best-of-seven format for all rounds in 2003.
Paolo Banchero added 18 points for Orlando, albeit with a challenging shooting night, going 4 for 18 from the field. Despite a shooting percentage of just 32.6%, with Jalen Suggs hitting only 1 of his 13 attempts and 1 of 11 from beyond the arc, the Magic found success through careful ball management.
By limiting their turnovers to just 12, compared to Detroit’s 20, Orlando managed to overcome their shooting difficulties and secure the crucial win.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 25 points and Tobias Harris had 20.
Wagner left with 1:34 left in the third quarter due to right calf soreness.
Jamal Cain replaced Wagner and electrified the crowd with a driving dunk over Caris LeVert early in the fourth quarter. He also had a one-handed tip-in dunk that made it 87-85 with 4:55 to go.
Suggs missed his first eight shots before nailing a 3-pointer from the corner for an 85-80 lead. But Ausar Thompson’s layup tied it before Cain’s putback.
With former Grizzlies teammates Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. cheering him on courtside, Bane banked in a 3-pointer to extend Orlando’s lead to 92-86 with 1:16 remaining.
The 45-win Magic haven’t won a playoff series since 2010, when they lost in the Eastern Conference finals. The 37-year-old franchise has never won an NBA title.
The Pistons, who won 60 games in the regular season, have an even longer series drought. They haven’t advanced to the second round since losing in the East finals in 2008
The teams traded double-digit leads in the first half and the Magic led 54-52 going into the third quarter.
Riding a wave of energy from a frenzied, blue-clad crowd, the Magic scored the first eight points and led 19-7 before missing 13 straight shots during a 20-5 run by Detroit.
The Pistons had a 40-30 lead midway through the second.
The Magic improved to 8-1 at home in the playoffs over the past three seasons.