ORLANDO – The Detroit Pistons, once again, are facing an uphill battle.
They will look to bounce back against the Orlando Magic in Game 4 on Monday (8 p.m., Peacock), after dropping Game 3, 113-105. A 26-8 rally in the fourth quarter erased a 17-point deficit and gave the Pistons the lead, 105-104, with 2:52 to play.
But they went scoreless the rest of the way, and the Magic used a 9-0 run to take a 2-1 series lead.
"It’s one game at a time, and that’s what playoff series are," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said postgame. "We come down here, we win on Monday, we take homecourt advantage back. Today’s game, we’ll learn from it. But it’s over with and it gives us more opportunities, more film to watch, more time to prepare, to get ready for Monday.
"But you can’t hang onto it and our guys have been consistent all year, that we’ve been able to move on from the next. I trust our guys that we’ll focus on it, we’ll learn from it, we’ll study it, we’ll get better at it and then Monday we’ll be ready to go."
Here are two questions the Pistons will have to answer in Game 4, plus a Magic vs. Pistons prediction.
ONE BIG PLAN: Pistons' biggest enemy in playoffs is obvious so far
Saturday comfortably was Cunningham's worst game in the series – 27 points (on 8-for-23 shooting), nine assists, five rebounds and nine turnovers. He settled down in the fourth quarter, leading their 18-point run with 12 points, four assists and one turnover, and hit the tying pull-up 3-pointer and split a trip at the foul line to briefly take the lead.
"It’s a possession game in the playoffs in general," Cunningham said postgame. "That’s why I say a lot of this falls on my shoulders where I have to be better and make sure that I’m doing a good job of getting the ball out to my guys and making sure that they can make plays out of it and just making sure we have shots on the rim. Too many times we’re having empty possessions giving the ball back to them."
Orlando scored 24 points off 16 Pistons turnovers, seven of which were committed in the first quarter. Four of those were by Cunningham. He's coming off his best season as a playmaker, averaging more assists than last season (9.9, from 9.1) while reducing his turnovers (3.7, from 4.4). They can't afford much slippage from him moving forward.
Though the first-time All-Star has yet to find his comfort zone offensively, he submitted his best defensive stretches of the playoffs on Saturday. He tallied eight points, nine rebounds and five blocks. His struggles on the offensive end (3-for-10 shooting) didn't impact his defensive effort to the extent it did in Games 1 and 2. He made good rotations more consistently and was active as a shot blocker.
"He’s been great," Cunningham said. "Presenting himself at the rim, making them have to score over him, I think he’s been doing a great job. He’s done a lot of really good things in series that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Obviously blocks does, but making guys score over him. It’s tough for guys to get over him and he’s strong in the air and all that stuff. I think he’s done a great job of that and we’re going to continue to need that from him."
It was an uneven game for Duren, who was benched − along with backup Isaiah Stewart − for third-stringer Paul Reed early in the third quarter after a rough start to the second half. But Duren made strides in the right direction on one end of the floor, which he and the Pistons both hope is an omen for his play moving forward. Through three games, he's averaging just nine points on 41.7% shooting (10-for-24), far below his regular-season averages of 19.5 points on 65% shooting.
The Pistons have yet to submit a complete effort in the playoffs. Despite that, no game has gotten away from them. A 17-point deficit dissipated quickly in the fourth quarter once Cunningham locked in, and the team rallied behind him. With their backs against the wall, they've consistently responded this season and should do so on Monday in Game 4 as well. The pick: Pistons 101, Magic 94.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Magic vs Pistons prediction in Game 4, Jalen Duren's offense