Pistons Game 6 comeback: Cade Cunningham outscores Magic in fourth quarter to save season

The Detroit Pistons were on the brink of elimination but fought back in Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7 against the Orlando Magic.

The Pistons had a nightmare first half, as they were down 60-38 at the break while down 3-2 in the series. However, Cade Cunningham truly carried the team in the second half, helping Detroit erase the deficit to produce a 93-79 victory.

The comeback will go down in both Pistons and NBA history as one of the more impressive second-half performances in recent memory. Detroit and Orlando will now play a Game 7 on Sunday, as the Pistons will have a chance to cement a 3-1 series comeback.

Here's how the Pistons had an improbable victory on Friday night.

NBA PLAYOFFS HQ: Live NBA scores | NBA playoff schedule | NBA playoff bracket

Pistons Game 6 comeback

The Pistons were down 22 points at halftime, and the lead even reached 24 points, as they were facing the realistic possibility of being the next No. 1 seed to lose in the first round. However, Detroit fought back in the second half with an inspired effort while taking advantage of poor Magic by the offense.

Detroit produced a 24-11 third quarter to cut into Orlando’s lead, then then took the lead for good with an even more dominant 31-8 fourth quarter. In the process, the Magic missed 23-straight shots, allowing the Pistons to get right back into the game. Overall, the Pistons had a 26-3 run in the second half to take full control of the game.

The Pistons got contributions from Tobias Harris, who scored 20 points on the night, and Duncan Robinson, who had 14 points. However, this was the Cade Cunningham show, as the star was the best player on the floor with 32 points and 10 rebounds.

In fact, Cunningham himself outscored the entire Magic team 19-8 in the fourth quarter, and he had as many fourth-quarter points as the Magic had in the second half..

Cade Cunningham outscored the Magic 19-8 in the 4th quarter 👏 pic.twitter.com/z6YU60xudb

The Magic are known more for defense than offense, but the team’s offensive struggles reared their ugly head at the wrong time. Orlando finished the game with making 35 percent from the field and 25 percent from three, and they made just one shot in the second half on 20 attempts and missed 27 of their last 28 attempts.

Orlando’s 19 second half points were the fewest in an NBA playoff game in league history, overtaking the previous record of 23.

Cade Cunningham stats

• Minutes: 41
• Points: 32
• Rebounds: 10
• Assists: 3
• FGM-FGA: 10-23
• 3PM-3PA: 2-4
• FTM-FTA: 10-12

With the Pistons' season on the line, star Cade Cunningham had perhaps his best game in the NBA. Cunningham produced 30 points and nine rebounds to carry his team over the finish line. Cunningham also had 19 points in the fourth quarter, which was 11 more than Orlando's entire team and matched the Magic's second-half total.