Pistons' Cade Cunningham Sends Strong Message After Loss to Magic
The Detroit Pistons entered the NBA playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but looked far from that as the underdog Orlando Magic achieved a stunning 112-101 upset in Game 1.
Cade Cunningham gave an all-out effort in Detroit to keep his team in the game, giving them a serious chance to win. He hit 13-of-27 shots and 10-of-11 free throws, finishing with 39 points in the loss. The only other double-digit scorer for the Pistons was Tobias Harris, who scored 17.
Starters Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, and Duncan Robinson combined for 25 points. The Pistons' bench wasn't much help either, with Daniss Jenkins' six points the most any reserve scored.
"Think we came out a little too tight, lax, whatever the word is, maybe both, for some of us. Just didn't come out with the right energy. Gave them life early on, and then we had to deal with that for the rest of the game," Cunningham said at his postgame press conference.
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"We were better in stints. But, can't dig a hole like that. Something we've said a lot this year," the Pistons star also said, of his team’s performance in their opening game.
The Magic came into the game seemingly feeding off the momentum from their recent play-in game win, 121-90, against the Charlotte Hornets. That wasn't just a win; it was a dominant statement, as things seemed to be clicking for Orlando.
However, Orlando led only 55-51 at halftime, which seemed to give the Pistons the life they needed to go on a run and grab a lead. They tied things 65-65 in the third, courtesy of Cunningham’s huge three-pointer, but the Magic kept the fight going, extending to an 11-point lead later in the third.
They only led by seven going into the fourth, but Detroit players besides Cunningham couldn’t seem to dig deep enough to give significant contributions. Despite the tough loss to open the series, Cunningham still seemed optimistic, making a statement about what’s to come.
“Gotta be better. Will be better. I'm still very excited about this series and where it's gonna push this team to. There's a lot of things we can learn from this game, and we'll move forward and be better,” he told reporters.
It could be an indication of what’s next from Cunningham and Detroit if that’s true. They defeated the Magic in Orlando 106-92 in early March. Last October, they won a home game against them, 135-116.
They’ll have their chance to be better on Wednesday night when they host Orlando at 7 p.m. Eastern Time for Game 2. However, Pistons fans will be rather uneasy if the Magic steal a second game in Detroit, where the home team lost only nine times all regular season.
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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 7:46 PM.