{"id":1914181,"date":"2026-05-02T11:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T08:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1914181"},"modified":"2026-05-02T11:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T08:54:21","slug":"resilient-pistons-set-sights-on-game-7-after-digging-out-of-3-1-series-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1914181","title":{"rendered":"Resilient Pistons set sights on Game 7 after digging out of 3-1 series hole"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The Kia Center crowd couldn\u2019t fathom what was unfolding Friday night.<\/p>\n

With their Orlando Magic leading by 24 in the third quarter, the home crowd was confident their team would end the series against the Detroit Pistons. But as the missed shots \u2014 23 consecutive \u2014 piled up, the confidence in the arena evaporated and the tension rose. Before long, boos cascaded across the court.<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately for the Magic and their fans, there\u2019s something about being in the worst situations that brings out the best in these Detroit Pistons. They feel at home in scenarios that would make most teams wither. They thrive with their backs against the wall.<\/p>\n

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While others bend and break, Detroit bends and somehow strengthens. It\u2019s a quality that has carried the Pistons to 60 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. One that limited Orlando to 1-of-20 shooting in the fourth quarter. And one Detroit believes will continue carrying it as far as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a philosophy I like to say,\u201d Paul Reed told The Athletic<\/em> over the blaring locker room speaker after the Pistons\u2019 93-79 Game 6 win. \u201cPressure either bursts pipe or makes diamonds. Tonight, we came out there and did what we had to do to go get the W and handled business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It was fitting for Reed to be confident after the remarkable comeback. He helped shift the tenor of the game during the third quarter, putting Detroit on track to notch the largest comeback by a road team facing elimination since the 1996-97 season.<\/p>\n

Detroit was facing a 62-38 deficit with 11:11 left in the third. What is it that inspires the Pistons to band together when it would be almost customary to wave the white flag and surrender?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all are cut from that cloth of things not coming easy to us,\u201d Cade Cunningham said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had to work to be where we\u2019re at. We\u2019ve had an underdog mentality for a lot of our careers, a lot of our lives. Now that we\u2019re all in the room together, that\u2019s something we\u2019ve bonded over.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhenever we are in situations like that, it brings us all back to what we bond over and how we\u2019re all cut. That\u2019s when it brings the best out of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham, who had 19 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter, continues to come alive when the moment is the most important. The key for him?<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m at my best whenever I\u2019m calm and I\u2019m in control of what\u2019s going on,\u201d he said with a smirk. \u201cJust trying to regulate myself as best as I can and making sure I can present my best self. \u2026 S\u2014, we got Game 7, we\u2019re going to the crib. That was our job, to come in here to get a win and send it back to Detroit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impetus of Detroit\u2019s run was defense.<\/p>\n

It has been what the Pistons have prided themselves on since coach J.B. Bickerstaff took over in the summer of 2024. Detroit outscored Orlando 55-19 in the second half, allowing just eight points in the fourth quarter. Those 19 points the Pistons allowed were the fewest in any second half in NBA playoff history.<\/p>\n

Detroit put on a defensive performance unlike anything the association had seen previously.<\/p>\n

Ausar Thompson, who finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, was essential to the Pistons\u2019 defensive push. Thompson has 14 steals and 14 blocks through six games of the postseason, more stocks than any other player in the playoffs entering Saturday. His weakside block on Wendell Carter Jr. that left the Orlando big man on his knees was arguably Thompson\u2019s most impressive Friday.<\/p>\n

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Cunningham had just sunk his second 3-pointer to notch 30 points with 4:08 remaining. Then, as Carter thought he had an easy dunk off a Jalen Suggs pass, Thompson came flying in, sending the dunk attempt careening off the hardwood and into the hands of Cunningham. Carter eventually fouled out reaching for a steal on Cunningham in transition.<\/p>\n

Thompson\u2019s defensive effort has been unrivaled in the postseason. He personifies Detroit\u2019s playoff-best 101.9 defensive rating, and his team\u2019s ability to focus on what\u2019s most important.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis game is in the past,\u201d Thompson said.\u00a0<\/em>\u201cIt\u2019s just a game at a time. We\u2019ve got to worry about Game 7, taking care of that at home. We can\u2019t even think about this game. We can think about what we did well, but we can\u2019t be too high about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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These Pistons are unique. It\u2019ll take more than a 24-point deficit or roughly 19,000 fans cheering for their demise to supplant them from their top spot in the conference. They feel pressure is a privilege. And Detroit has found a way to summon its fiercest competition style with its season on the line \u2014 twice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how to say it enough about this group, but they\u2019re so dialed in and they\u2019re so connected,\u201d Bickerstaff said. \u201cThey just don\u2019t want to let each other down. In adverse situations, you\u2019ve got two options: you fight or you run. The nature of this group is they fight. That\u2019s why they\u2019re able to continue to fight through these things. They don\u2019t get down. They don\u2019t put their heads down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no woe is me, there is no selfishness. \u2026 It\u2019s \u2018what can I do to help the team?\u2019 Time and time again, that\u2019s what they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the Pistons hope to complete this comeback, the resolve they showed Friday will need to be on full display Sunday in Detroit. They understand they need to provide the intensity they played with during the second half from the opening tip. And after fighting its way back from this 3-1 hole to even the series, Detroit seems poised to meet the moment once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s about us going and finishing the job,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cNone of this means anything if we don\u2019t win Game 7.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The Kia Center crowd couldn\u2019t fathom what was unfolding Friday night. With their Orlando Magic leading by 24 in the third quarter, the home crowd was confident their team would end the series against the Detroit Pistons. But as the missed shots \u2014 23 consecutive \u2014 piled up, the confidence in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1914181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1914181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1914181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1914181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1914181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}