In the opener of a Monday night tripleheader of NBA playoff action, the top-seeded Detroit Pistons will be on the road against the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic on NBC and Peacock.
The Magic has a 2-1 series lead after winning 113-105 in Game 3 at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida.
In Game 3 of the best-of-seven series that have been tied 1-1, the winning teams have advanced at a rate of 73.7% (202-72). Orlando is 5-1 when leading 2-1 in the best-of-seven series with the lone series loss coming to Detroit in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs.
The Pistons are 6-13 when trailing 2-1 in a best-of-seven series. Detroit's most recent series victory after trailing 2-1 came in 2008 when the Pistons won the final three games to beat Philadelphia 4-2.
Orlando is aiming to become the seventh No. 8 team to topple the top seed and the first since Miami beat Milwaukee in 2023.
See below for additional information on the Pistons-Magic game and how to watch the 2026 NBA Playoffs on NBC and Peacock.
Announcing team: Michael Grady (play by play), Robbie Hummel (analyst), Austin Rivers (analyst), Grant Liffmann (courtside reporter)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, 9:30 p.m. ET, Peacock, NBCSN
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock
In his return from a collapsed lung, Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham has played well in the series (31.0 ppg, second most in the playoffs behind MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 34.7). But Detroit center Jalen Duren has struggled and is off his season averages in points (9.0, down from 19.5) and rebounding (8.3 from 10.5)
“These last three games haven’t been what he wants or what we might want for him," Cunningham said. "I and the whole team have no doubt he’s going to figure it out and he knows he’s going to figure it out.”
As expected, physicality and defense have been major themes for the series. Detroit and Orlando had the lowest combined points total (612) through the first three games of all eight first-round playoff series. In each game, the winning team has the edge in rebounding marin.
Forward Paolo Banchero and guard Desmond Bane (tying Dennis Scott's franchise playoff record with seven 3-pointers) led the way for the Magic in Game 3 with 25 points apiece. After building a game-high 17-point lead to open the fourth quarter, the Magic had to rally after falling behind the Pistons 105-104 with 2:52 left. Orlando finished on a 9-0 run that Banchero punctuated on a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left.
“Once they tied it up, nobody was panicking," said Banchero, who added 12 rebounds, nine assists and three steals. "Everybody just understood the moment and what had to be done to finish the game off. The guys have enough experience to not panic in those moments and to just stay poised, and that’s what we did.’
In addition to Banchero and Bane, the Magic got double-figure efforts from Jalen Suggs (15 points), Franz Wagner (17) and Wendell Carter Jr. (14).
“I could go on and on about Desmond Bane because he’s such a professional, because he doesn’t rattle, because he stays the course and comes to work every single day,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said.
Said Carter, who had a playoff career-high 17 rebounds (most by a Magic player in a playoff game since Dwight Howard (17) in 2011): "I just knew I had to be the most physical person out there, or they were going to punk me."
NBC Sports will present up to 23 games in the First Round and 11 games in the Conference Semifinals across either NBC and Peacock, or Peacock and NBCSN. Playoff programming concludes with exclusive coverage of the Western Conference Finals on NBC and Peacock.
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Peacock’s NBA Playoffs coverage spans multiple rounds, including Round 1, the Conference Semifinals, and the Western Conference Finals, with coverage evolving as the postseason progresses.