Cup Run Over: Pistons Fall 112-109 to Magic, NBA Tournament Hopes End at 2–2
Pistons Fall 112-109 to Magic in a close one at home, and with it, their NBA Cup run comes to an end. Detroit battled to the final buzzer but couldn’t get over the hump in a 112-109 loss to the Orlando Magic, finishing group play at 2-2 while Orlando moved to a perfect 4-0 to advance. It wasn’t a collapse; they just got beat in a tight game by a team that made a few more winning plays — and did it without star forward Paolo Banchero even suiting up.
For a team that had ripped off a 13-game winning streak not long ago, this is a different kind of frustration. The effort was there. The star power was there. The crowd was into it. But the combination of turnovers, late-game execution, and some huge shots from Orlando proved to be the difference.
🏀 Pistons vs. Magic — Stat Capsule
Final: Magic 112, Pistons 109
🔵 Detroit Pistons (109)
- ⭐ Cade Cunningham: 39 pts, 13 reb, 11 ast (triple-double)
- 🧱 Jalen Duren: 16 pts, 12 reb, 4 blk
- 🎯 Team FG%: 44% (37-84)
- 🎯 3PT%: 39% (11-28)
- 🔁 Turnovers: 24 (costly late)
🟠 Orlando Magic (112)
- 🔥 Desmond Bane: 37 pts, 13-25 FG
- 🌀 Franz Wagner: 21 pts, 7 reb, 3 stl
- 🏹 3PT%: 17% (5-30) — still found a way
- 💪 Rebounds: 44 (14 offensive)
- 🛡️ Steals: 15 (pressure all night)
⚡ Key Moments
❗ Magic secure win with clutch late boards + free throws
🏆 Orlando advances in NBA Cup (4-0 in group)
❌ Detroit eliminated (2-2) despite comeback attempts
🔥 Cade’s huge night keeps it close
📉 Pistons plagued by turnovers & late-game execution
Cade delivers a monster, but turnovers tell the story
If you’re looking for a reason this game stayed competitive, start (and almost end) with Cade Cunningham.
The Pistons’ franchise cornerstone delivered a superstar performance: 39 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists on 13-of-26 shooting and 4-of-7 from deep. He controlled the game for long stretches, carried the offense late, and once again showed why he’s playing at an All-NBA level this season.
But while Cade was brilliant, the overall offensive profile tells you why Detroit came up short:
- 24 turnovers as a team
- 29 points conceded off those turnovers
- Multiple empty trips in crunch time, including a critical late mistake
Detroit actually shot better from the field and from three than Orlando. They rebounded better. They moved the ball. But you can’t spot a good team 29 points off giveaways and expect to survive a knockout-style environment, even in group play.
Duren keeps stacking grown-man nights
Jalen Duren quietly put together another “this guy is a problem” performance.
He finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting, going a perfect 6-of-6 from the line and swatting 5 shots. His presence on the glass and as a rim protector anchored the Pistons’ interior all night. There were stretches where he and Cade simply refused to let the game slip away.
Tobias Harris added 18 points (8-of-15 from the field), and Ausar Thompson chipped in 8 points with his usual activity. But outside of Cade and Duren, Detroit didn’t get enough consistent, efficient offense — especially from deep. Duncan Robinson went 3-of-11 from three, and Harris finished 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, leaving points on the table in a game decided by a single possession.
Wagner and Bane tilt the game Orlando’s way
On the other side, Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane were just too much.
Wagner put together a complete, winning performance: 21 points on 8-of-19 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Thirteen of those points came in the second half, where he operated as Orlando’s offensive hub. He also made a smart foul late to prevent a clean Pistons opportunity, one of those small but decisive plays that don’t always show up in a highlight reel.
Desmond Bane was the real dagger.
He dropped 37 points on 13-of-25 shooting and 5-of-10 from three, repeatedly punishing Detroit when they made even the slightest mistake in coverage. Late in the fourth, Bane grabbed critical offensive rebounds off missed Wagner threes and turned them into second-chance points. His three-point play with 2:11 remaining pushed Orlando ahead 108-106 — a swing that felt huge in a game this tight.
Jalen Suggs had a rough night from the field (4-of-17, 2-of-11 from three), but he still found ways to impact the game: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block. And when it mattered most, he stepped to the line and buried two free throws with 6.3 seconds left to make it 112-109 and effectively seal the win.
In other words: Detroit’s stars were great, but Orlando’s stars were great too — and theirs made a few more winning plays in the final minutes.
The numbers underneath the score
Strip away the emotions and the Cup context, and the box score tells a pretty clean story:
- Pistons shot better from the floor (44% to 41%)
- Pistons shot much better from three (39% to 17%)
- Pistons won the glass (49–44) and had more assists (22–14)
But:
- Orlando took 13 more shots (97 attempts to Detroit’s 84)
- Orlando went +3 at the free-throw line (27-of-32 vs. 24-of-31)
- Detroit turned it over 24 times to Orlando’s 14
Detroit did a lot right. They just gave away too many possessions to finish the job.
No Banchero… and still out
One thing that makes this loss sting a little more: Orlando did this without Paolo Banchero, who sat out with an injury.
You’d like to think that on your home floor, in a must-win NBA Cup setting, with the other team down its best player, you find a way to close. Instead, the Magic showed why they’ve been one of the East’s toughest outs — balance, toughness, and no fear of the moment.
For Detroit, it’s another reminder that even in a breakout season, there’s still growth needed in late-game execution and value-of-possession basketball.
So, the Pistons are eliminated from the NBA Cup Tournament— do you like the format, and do you follow it? Drop a comment below or join the conversation in the Pistons Hardwood Hub — where fans break down every game, every angle.
Info gathered from team reports, pressers & trusted media outlets — the way we always do it at Mitten Sports Talk.
