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Historically bad might be the most accurate descriptor the Detroit Pistons' Game 4 loss to the Orlando Magic. Both teams could not knock down more than 10 three-pointers while one of them had 20 turnovers and committed 29 fouls. Desmond Bane was, unexpectedly, the star of this NBA Playoffs bout while Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren could not do much to prevent their team going down 3-1.
Bane, Magic expose Pistons to get 3-1 NBA Playoffs lead
The Pistons are now the third 60-win team to trail 3-1 in NBA Playoffs history, per ESPN Insights. They join the 2007 Dallas Mavericks and 2011 San Antonio Spurs as the only squads to have ever gone through this agony. The good news for Coach JB Bickerstaff? Both the Mavericks and Spurs won Game 5. The bad news? Those two teams got eliminated in six times games too.
In the first half alone, the Magic had 19 points off turnovers to prevent the Pistons from popping off offensively. This was the most that the Magic had since 1998. Of course, Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren still managed to get the Pistons 52 points in that time but the quickly ran out of gas. The Pistons would not score more than 20 points per quarter in the latter half. This is when Desmond Bane started torturing his opponents.
Bane ended Game 4 of their NBA Playoffs matchup with 22 points by going 50% from three-point range and having a 38.9% field goal percentage. He also grabbed five rebounds and notched a steal. Bane led the Magic in scoring to notch the 3-1 NBA Playoffs lead.
Looking at the Pistons, it was a complete meltdown for Coach JB Bickerstaff. When the numbers are crunched, Cunningham and Duren combined for 12 turnovers against the Magic defense. Cunningham had eight turnovers on his own and that would rank among the top 50 worst in NBA Playoffs history. Not to mention, the Pistons star just had the 12th-most turnovers in postseason history when they lost Game 3 to the Magic. Cunningham turned the ball over nine times in that game.
Another reason why the Pistons lost was because of their fouls. Cunningham and Co. average about 23.5 fouls per game. They are third-worst in the NBA Playoffs in that category but that is not the worst thing to happen to them. Duren, who is supposed to be the secondary All-Star for the Pistons, only had 12 points in 31 minutes of playing time. He did it blend it with eight rebounds, a block, and a steal. But, those four turnovers along with a game-high five fouls practically meant that he was not doing much to help the Pistons against the Magic.
Will Cunningham and Duren be able to help the Pistons become the 14th team to overcome a 3-1 NBA Playoffs series or should they start packing bags?
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