Game ID: 42500105
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DET 38 28 23 27 116ORL 26 34 19 30 109
DET vs ORL ScoutingDET vs ORL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DET availability going into 4/19 · 6 days' restBACK Cunningham back 4/08 after 11, 25 min since (72% of 35)
BACK Stewart back 4/08 after 13, 15 min since (71% of 20)
DET availability going into 4/22 · 2 days' restBACK Cunningham back 4/08 after 11, 29 min since (83% of 35)
BACK Stewart back 4/08 after 13, 16 min since (76% of 20)
DET availability going into 4/25 · 2 days' restBACK Cunningham back 4/08 after 11, 31 min since (88% of 35)
BACK Stewart back 4/08 after 13, 16 min since (76% of 20)
DET availability going into 4/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
DET availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Holland II missed 2 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Sasser missed 2 since 4/25, out tonight
DET availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Holland II missed 3 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Reed missed 2 since 4/27, returns tonight: 11 min (81% of 13)
OUT Sasser missed 3 since 4/25, out tonight
NEW Cunningham 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 27 to 32 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/03 · 1 day's restOUT Huerter missed 2 since 4/29, out tonight
OUT Holland II missed 4 since 4/25, returns tonight: 1 min (6% of 18)
OUT Sasser missed 4 since 4/25, returns tonight: 1 min (10% of 12)
BACK Reed back 5/01 after 2, 11 min since (81% of 13)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 27 to 34 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/05 · 1 day's restOUT Huerter missed 3 since 4/29, out tonight
BACK Holland II back 5/03 after 4, 1 min since (6% of 18)
BACK Reed back 5/01 after 2, 6 min since (48% of 13)
BACK Sasser back 5/03 after 4, 1 min since (10% of 12)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 27 to 35 min over the last 5
DET availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Huerter missed 4 since 4/29, out tonight
BACK Holland II back 5/03 after 4, 6 min since (30% of 18)
BACK Reed back 5/01 after 2, 6 min since (48% of 13)
BACK Sasser back 5/03 after 4, 1 min since (10% of 12)
NEW Cunningham 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Harris 29 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 27 to 34 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 4/19 · 6 days' restOUT Howard missed 5 since 4/05, out tonight
OUT Mor. Wagner missed 2 since 4/10, out tonight
BACK Black back 4/06 after 16, 17 min since (59% of 29)
NEW Cain 13 to 19 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 4/22 · 2 days' restOUT Penda missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 3 min (24% of 13)
OUT Howard missed 6 since 4/05, returns tonight: 3 min (24% of 12)
OUT Mor. Wagner missed 3 since 4/10, returns tonight: 3 min (26% of 12)
OUT Richardson missed 2 since 4/12, returns tonight: 3 min (28% of 11)
BACK Black back 4/06 after 16, 18 min since (62% of 29)
ORL availability going into 4/25 · 2 days' restBACK Penda back 4/22 after 2, 3 min since (24% of 13)
BACK Howard back 4/22 after 6, 3 min since (24% of 12)
BACK Mor. Wagner back 4/22 after 3, 3 min since (26% of 12)
BACK Richardson back 4/22 after 2, 3 min since (28% of 11)
ORL availability going into 4/27 · 1 day's restBACK Penda back 4/22 after 2, 3 min since (24% of 13)
BACK Howard back 4/22 after 6, 3 min since (24% of 12)
BACK Mor. Wagner back 4/22 after 3, 3 min since (26% of 12)
BACK Richardson back 4/22 after 2, 3 min since (28% of 11)
ORL availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Carter missed 2 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Penda missed 2 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Howard missed 2 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Mor. Wagner missed 2 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Richardson missed 2 since 4/25, out tonight
NEW Suggs 28 to 35 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Carter missed 3 since 4/25, returns tonight: 2 min (12% of 19)
OUT Penda missed 3 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Howard missed 3 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Mor. Wagner missed 3 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Richardson missed 3 since 4/25, out tonight
NEW Suggs 28 to 35 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 5/03 · 1 day's restOUT Penda missed 4 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Howard missed 4 since 4/25, out tonight
OUT Mor. Wagner missed 4 since 4/25, returns tonight: 10 min (84% of 12)
OUT Richardson missed 4 since 4/25, out tonight
BACK Carter back 5/01 after 3, 2 min since (12% of 19)
NEW Suggs 28 to 35 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 31 from three, 27 free throws a game; Cunningham at 25 and Harris at 20 a game. Without Holland II (2 straight). One day's rest. Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 101, shooting 39 percent and 31 from three, 30 free throws a game; Banchero at 21 and Fra. Wagner at 17 a game. Without Carter (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 18 times a game to Orlando's 14. Call it Detroit 110, Orlando 107, Orlando keeping it close.
4/19 vs ORL 101-112 — DET notes
DET lost 101-112. DET shot 40% (31 of 77) to ORL's 49%, 10 of 32 from three, and went to the line 38 times to ORL's 19 — 29 points from the stripe to their 14. Cunningham led with 39 (13 of 27, 3 of 8 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); Harris added 17. Q2 was theirs, 24-20, the deficit cut from 8 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 92-77 against them. Duren's -21 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/22 vs ORL 98-83 — DET notes
DET won 98-83. DET shot 46% (39 of 85) to ORL's 32%, 6 of 26 from three, and got to the line 24 times to ORL's 32. DET turned it over 22 times to ORL's 17, and ORL turned those into 16 steals. The glass went 57-42 for them. Cunningham led with 27 (11 of 19, 1 of 6 from three, 4 of 8 at the line); Harris added 16, Duren 11. The hinge was Q3, 38-16: from level to 22 ahead, and the lead reached 27. Robinson was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
4/25 @ ORL 105-113 — DET notes
DET lost 105-113. DET shot 44% (37 of 85) to ORL's 40%, 11 of 32 from three, and got to the line 24 times to ORL's 33. Cunningham led with 27 (8 of 23, 3 of 10 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Harris added 23, Thompson 17. Q1 was theirs, 26-26, but the other 3 periods went 87-79 against them.
4/27 @ ORL 88-94 — DET notes
DET lost 88-94. DET shot 38% (31 of 82) to ORL's 33%, 6 of 30 from three, and got to the line 28 times to ORL's 34. DET turned it over 20 times to ORL's 10, and ORL turned those into 8 steals. Cunningham led with 25 (7 of 23, 3 of 11 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Harris added 20, Duren 12. Q1 was theirs, 27-26, but the other 3 periods went 68-61 against them. They led by as many as 10.
4/29 vs ORL 116-109 — DET notes
DET won 116-109. DET shot 49% (39 of 80) to ORL's 48%, 10 of 28 from three. The glass went 49-33 for them. Cunningham led with 45 (13 of 23, 5 of 8 from three, 14 of 14 at the line); Harris added 23, Duren 12. The hinge was Q1, 38-26: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 17. Stewart was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
5/01 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 102, shooting 40 percent and 34 from three, 30 free throws a game; Banchero at 26 and Bane at 19 a game. Without Carter (3 straight). One day's rest. Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 102, shooting 43 percent and 29 from three, 30 free throws a game; Cunningham at 33 and Harris at 20 a game. Without Holland II (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Detroit has been plus-3 a night and Orlando minus-3 and the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 18 times a game to Orlando's 14. Call it Orlando 109, Detroit 108, Detroit keeping it close.
5/03 vs ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 100 a night and allowing 96, shooting 43 percent and 29 from three, 27 free throws a game; Cunningham at 31 and Harris at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Huerter (2 straight), Holland II (4 straight). One day's rest. Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 96 a night and allowing 100, shooting 37 percent and 33 from three, 30 free throws a game; Banchero at 25 and Bane at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Detroit has been plus-7 a night and Orlando minus-7 and the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 17 times a game to Orlando's 13. Call it Detroit 109, Orlando 102.
5/05 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 98, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Cunningham at 32 and Harris at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Huerter (3 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 28 free throws a game; Mitchell at 20 and Harden at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Ellis (3 straight), Porter Jr. (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the defense, Detroit allowing 98 a night to Cleveland's 111. Call it Detroit 113, Cleveland 107.
5/07 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 95, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 29 free throws a game; Cunningham at 31 and Harris at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Huerter (4 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Mitchell at 22 and Harden at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Porter Jr. (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the defense, Detroit allowing 95 a night to Cleveland's 108. Call it Detroit 112, Cleveland 107.
4/19 @ DET 112-101 — ORL notes
ORL won 112-101. ORL shot 49% (44 of 90) to DET's 40%, 10 of 34 from three, and got to the line 19 times to DET's 38. Banchero led with 23 (8 of 15, 2 of 4 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Wagner added 19, Carter Jr. 17. The hinge was Q1, 35-27: from level to 8 ahead. Carter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
4/22 @ DET 83-98 — ORL notes
ORL lost 83-98. ORL shot 32% (26 of 80) to DET's 46%, 8 of 32 from three, and went to the line 32 times to DET's 24 — 23 points from the stripe to their 14. ORL turned it over 17 times to DET's 22. The glass went 42-57 against them. Suggs led with 19 (7 of 18, 3 of 10 from three); Banchero added 18, Bane 12. Q4 was theirs, 21-14, the deficit cut from 22 to 15, but the other 3 periods went 84-62 against them. Carter Jr.'s -29 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/25 vs DET 113-105 — ORL notes
ORL won 113-105. ORL shot 40% (36 of 89) to DET's 44%, 15 of 33 from three, and went to the line 33 times to DET's 24 — 26 points from the stripe to their 20. Bane led with 25 (9 of 18, 7 of 9 from three); Banchero added 25, Wagner 17. The hinge was Q2, 35-28: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 17. Wagner was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
4/27 vs DET 94-88 — ORL notes
ORL won 94-88. ORL shot 33% (30 of 92) to DET's 38%, 9 of 35 from three, and went to the line 34 times to DET's 28 — 25 points from the stripe to their 20. ORL turned it over 10 times to DET's 20. Bane led with 22 (7 of 18, 5 of 10 from three); Wagner added 19, Banchero 18. The hinge was Q3, 21-17: a lead of 2 became 6. Suggs was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
4/29 @ DET 109-116 — ORL notes
ORL lost 109-116. ORL shot 48% (38 of 80) to DET's 49%, 17 of 38 from three. The glass went 33-49 against them. Banchero led with 45 (17 of 31, 6 of 11 from three, 5 of 12 at the line); Black added 19, Bane 18. Q2 was theirs, 34-28, the deficit cut from 12 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 88-75 against them. Bitadze's -13 in 14 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/01 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 102, shooting 40 percent and 34 from three, 30 free throws a game; Banchero at 26 and Bane at 19 a game. Without Carter (3 straight). One day's rest. Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 102, shooting 43 percent and 29 from three, 30 free throws a game; Cunningham at 33 and Harris at 20 a game. Without Holland II (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Detroit has been plus-3 a night and Orlando minus-3 and the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 18 times a game to Orlando's 14. Call it Orlando 109, Detroit 108, Detroit keeping it close.
5/03 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 100 a night and allowing 96, shooting 43 percent and 29 from three, 27 free throws a game; Cunningham at 31 and Harris at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Huerter (2 straight), Holland II (4 straight). One day's rest. Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 96 a night and allowing 100, shooting 37 percent and 33 from three, 30 free throws a game; Banchero at 25 and Bane at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Detroit has been plus-7 a night and Orlando minus-7 and the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 17 times a game to Orlando's 13. Call it Detroit 109, Orlando 102.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DETAT A. Thompson
CC C. Cunningham
CL C. LeVert
DJ D. Jenkins
DR D. Robinson
IS I. Stewart
JD J. Duren
JG J. Green
TH T. Harris
ORLAB A. Black
DB D. Bane
GB G. Bitadze
JC J. Cain
JS J. Suggs
PB P. Banchero
TD T. da Silva
WC W. Carter Jr.
DET/ORL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Cade Cunningham scores 45, Pistons beat Magic 116-109 in Game 5 to stave off elimination
DETROIT -- — Cade Cunningham scored a franchise playoff-record 45 points, including a step-back jumper with 32 seconds left, and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons beat the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic 116-109 on Wednesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series to stave off elimination.
Orlando leads the series 3-2 and will get a second chance to advance at home on Friday night.
The Magic fell to 0-10 in franchise history on the road in a Game 5.
Detroit never trailed and went ahead by 15 early in the final quarter. The Magic made one more run, pulling within three points on Paolo Banchero 's sixth 3-pointer with 1:09 left. Banchero matched Cunningham with 45 points, also a playoff career high — but he missed 7 of 12 free throws.
The Pistons are hoping to bounce back from the brink of elimination as they did against the Magic two-plus decades ago.
Detroit’s comeback in 2003 as a No. 1 seed against eighth-seeded Orlando was the first of seven times NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit this century. The Denver Nuggets were the last team to pull off the feat in 2020, when they became the first franchise in the league to do it twice in one postseason.
Magic forward Franz Wagner was sidelined with a strained right calf. He had 19 points in two-plus quarters before he departed late in the third quarter on Monday night and averaged nearly 17 points and 5.5 rebounds over the first four games of the series.
Cunningham was 13 of 23 from the field, making a playoff career-high five 3-pointers, and was 14 of 14 at the line in what proved to be the difference in a duel with Banchero, also a former No. 1 overall pick.
Tobias Harris scored 23 points for the Pistons, All-Star center Jalen Duren snapped out of a slump with 12 points and nine rebounds, and Duncan Robinson also scored 12.
Anthony Black had a playoff career-high 19 points, Desmond Bane scored 18 points and Jalen Suggs added 10 for the Magic.
The Pistons played with a sense of urgency at the start after being rusty or flat early in previous games.
Detroit led by 17 in the second quarter, but the Magic cut the deficit to six points by halftime. Orlando pulled within two points early in the third and Cunningham’s fifth 3-pointer late in the quarter helped the Pistons take an 89-79 lead into the fourth.