National Basketball Association
Detroit 108, Orlando 104
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials:
#16 David Guthrie, #41 Ken Mauer, #44 Eli Roe
Attendance:
16553
By The Sports Xchange
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Reggie Jackson scored 24 points and the Detroit Pistons moved a step closer to their first playoff appearance in seven seasons by beating the Orlando Magic 108-104 on Wednesday night at the Amway Center.
The Pistons (42-37) can clinch a postseason berth with one more win or a loss by the Chicago Bulls. They clinched their first winning season since 2007-08.
Jackson scored eight points in the final three minutes to hold off a late Magic rally.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 18 points for the Pistons. Andre Drummond had 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, and Reggie Bullock and Tobias Harris each scored 13 points for Detroit.
The Magic were led by Evan Fournier with 19 points. Eldrid Payton had 17 points and four assists, Victor Oladipo contributed 16 points, Andrew Nicholson added 14 points and Nikola Vucevic totaled 15 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer with 3:38 remaining for the 97-96 lead, the first time the Pistons led in the fourth quarter. Jackson followed with four consecutive points for the 101-96 lead.
The Magic took a 77-73 lead into the fourth quarter but failed to hold it.
The Pistons opened the third quarter with a 12-4 run to take a 56-55 lead. Caldwell-Pope scored seven points in the first five minutes of the second half.
Detroit led by as many as three points in the third quarter, but Orlando regained momentum late by closing with an 8-4 run.
The Magic ended the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 51-44 lead. The Pistons failed to score after Jackson hit a free throw with 3:14 remaining in the second quarter.
Nicholson, Payton and Oladipo hit consecutive field goals before intermission.
Nicholson led all first-half scorers with 10 points. He hit both of his 3-point shots.
The Pistons led by as many as nine points in the first quarter, but they slowed when they started substituting.
Detroit, which shot poorly in Friday night's loss in Miami, made only 18 of 48 shots from the field (37.5 percent) in the first half.
NOTES: Magic C Nikola Vucevic, who is averaging a team-best 18.0 points, played as a reserve or the fourth consecutive game. He moved into the backup role after missing 13 games with a groin injury. In his three previous games off the bench, Vucevic scored 22, 24 and 25 points. ... The Pistons came to Orlando having beaten the Magic five consecutive times. In that five-game stretch, they averaged 116.2 points and won by an average of 17.9 points. ... Pistons F Tobias Harris is averaging 16.7 points per game since the Magic traded him to Detroit. He averaged just 13.7 for the Magic in 49 starts. Harris is one of four Detroit starters looking forward to their first playoff experience. "We can't get content yet. We haven't done anything yet," Harris said earlier Wednesday. "Every game is still a must-win game for us." ... The Pistons were coming off a horrendous shooting night in Miami on Friday when F Marcus Morris, G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and F Stanley Johnson combined to make just 2 of 22 shots from the field.
Top Game Performances
Detroit |
|
Orlando |
Reggie Jackson 24 |
Scoring |
Evan Fournier 19 |
Steve Blake 6 |
Assists |
Elfrid Payton 5 |
Andre Drummond 16 |
Rebounds |
Nikola Vucevic 13 |
Reggie Jackson 9 |
Free Throws Made |
Evan Fournier 5 |
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 3 |
Steals |
Elfrid Payton 2 |
Andre Drummond 4 |
Blocks |
Jason Smith 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Detroit
|
108 |
45.3 |
11-27 |
19-31 |
24 |
44 |
6 |
9 |
12 |
Orlando
|
104 |
47.8 |
4-15 |
14-19 |
25 |
48 |
8 |
7 |
14 |
Upcoming Games
-
Orlando will play their next game at home against Miami. The Magic have a W/L % of .382 after a win and .455 after a loss.
-
Detroit will play their next game at home against Washington. The Pistons have a W/L % of .524 after a win and .541 after a loss.