Pistons complete comeback against Magic to win their first NBA playoff series in 18 years

Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 12 assists, Tobias Harris added 30 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 116-94 in Game 7 on Sunday to win a playoff series for the first time in 18 years.

Cunningham averaged 32.4 points over the series for Detroit, who last won a postseason series when they beat Orlando in the second round in 2008.

The Pistons became the 15th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit and the second in the last two nights, after the Philadelphia 76ers came back to eliminate Boston.

Detroit, the No 1 seeds in the East, trailed by 24 points in Game 6 in Orlando before rallying to take the series at home. Orlando only scored 113 points in the final six quarters of the series – an average of 18.8 per period.

Cunningham and Harris became the first Pistons teammates to score 30 points in the same playoff game since Bob Lanier (33) and Howard Porter (30) against the Golden State Warriors in April 1977. Paolo Banchero scored 38 for the Magic.

Each team needed a second scoring option in Game 7. Cunningham had carried the Pistons while Banchero was Orlando’s only weapon after Franz Wagner was injured in Game 4. Harris filled that role for Detroit, but Orlando only had one other player reach double figures in the first three quarters, as Desmond Bane had 10.

The Pistons also got a big game from All-Star center Jalen Duren. He was outplayed by Wendell Carter Jr in the first six games, but put up his first double-double of the series with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Harris scored 17 points in the second quarter as the Pistons finished the half on a 9-2 run to take a 60-49 lead. The Pistons’ surge continued into the second half, as they opened the third quarter with a 11-2 run to go up 71-51. Nine of the points came from Cunningham and Harris.

The Magic finished the third quarter with 15 points – the third time in their last five periods they couldn’t reach 20 points. Daniss Jenkins hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Detroit a 83-64 lead going into the fourth, and the Magic never threatened down the stretch.