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Paolo Banchero Despondent After Magic Blow 3-1 Lead to Pistons
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From the Center
NewsweekMay 4
Magic Leaders Rightfully Question Roster After Game 7 Loss to Pistons
News ArticlePublishedMay 03, 2026 at 10:03 PM EDTBy Jordan SiglerFor a third straight season, the Orlando Magic were sent home after the first round of the playoffs. The Magic appeared to be on their way to winning the series at halftime of Game 6 when they took a 60-38 lead into halftime while being up three games to two on the Detroit Pistons, but Orlando scored just 19 points in the second half of a humiliating loss.On Sunday, the Magic won the first quarter 22-20, but were outscored by a combined 21 points in the second and third quarters. More News: Celtics Make Ugly NBA History in Game 7 Loss to 76ers...More News: Joel Embiid is Worried About Knicks FansMagic forward Paolo Banchero made a heroic effort in Game 7, scoring a game-high 38 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists (both were team highs).During his postgame news conference, Banchero admitted that he had doubts the Magic had enough talent on the roster to make a deep push in the Eastern Conference in response to a reporter’s question."This is the third straight time we haven't gotten out of the first round," Banchero said, via ESPN. "So, if
Paolo Banchero Despondent After Magic Blow 3-1 Lead to Pistons
The Orlando Magic had the Detroit Pistons on the ropes.The Pistons are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for these NBA playoffs, while the Magic needed the Play-In Tournament to sneak in the back door as the No. 8 seed. Over in the Western Conference, the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder swept the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns, and the Pistons were expected to enjoy a similarly easy opening series.Instead, the Magic took a 3-1 series lead and were the darlings of the first round. NBC's broadcast of Game 4 relayed that Orlando became the sixth 8-seed to hold a 3-1 lead over a 1-seed, with four of the previous five 8-seeds winning the series and advancing. But the issue was that, while winning, the Magic weren't playing particularly well. Orlando shot 32.6% from the field en route to winning Game 4, 94-88, which Keerthika Uthayakumar confirmed was the fifth-worst playoff field goal percentage by any team in the three-point era. To make matters more worrisome, they lost Franz Wagner, who had been shutting Cade Cunningham down defensively, for the rest of the series due to a calf strain suffered in Game 4.Detroit stopped letting Orlando get away with poor form