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Cade Cunningham poured in a Pistons playoff record 45 points to hold off a scorching Paolo Banchero (45 points) and force Game 6 in Orlando.
The Detroit Pistons saved their season for one night in front of their home fans against the feisty Orlando Magic.
Cade Cunningham bounced back from two rough outings in Orlando to score a Pistons playoff record 45 points, Ausar Thompson stuffed the stat sheet and the Pistons held on for the 116-109 in Game 5 on Wednesday, April 29, in the 2026 NBA playoffs at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Thompson dove on the floor to control a key offensive rebound after a Tobias Harris miss, and Cunningham drilled a pull-up 2-pointer for a 114-109 lead with 31.3 seconds left.
Paolo Banchero nearly led a 17-point comeback for the Magic, and finished with a playoff career-high 45 points on 17-for-31 shooting, including 6-for-11 on 3s.
The Pistons trail the first-round series, 3-2.
Game 6 will be Friday night in Orlando (Prime Video), where the Magic won twice already in this best-of-seven matchup.
The Magic are trying to become the seventh 8-seed to knock out a 1-seed in NBA history, but went just 16-for-30 at the foul line.
Cunningham poured in five 3s and shot 13-for-23 overall. He scored 27 in the first half. Tobias Harris added 23 points for the Pistons.
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Thompson twisted his ankle early in the third quarter and missed nearly five minutes, but returned with an extra verve, gobbling rebounds, leading a fastbreak for a Harris dunk and getting three steals in the quarter. Thompson finished with six points, 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocks in 36 minutes (he also have five turnovers).
Duncan Robinson had 12 points with three 3s and Jalen Duren had 12 points, nine rebounds (five on offense) and two blocks.
Anthony Black sizzled with 19 points off the bench for Orlando, which played without second-leading scorer Franz Wagner (right calf strain). The Magic started Pontiac native Jamal Cain in Wagner’s place.
The Pistons led by as much as 17, 48-31, at the 8:21 mark of the second quarter, but the Magic closed the half with a 7-0 run after a series of errors and fouls from the Pistons. Orlando was just 10-for-19 at the foul line in the half; the more physical Pistons were 19-for-26.
The Pistons had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half to four for Orlando, including three off missed free throws in the game’s first three minutes.
Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero go shot for shot
It was a showdown between two No. 1 picks. Cunningham and Banchero led their respective teams with 27 and 22 points, respectively, in the first half. Cunningham scored 20 in the second quarter, putting the Pistons’ fate in his hands.
He came out firing, knocking down a midrange jumper and then a fastbreak 3-pointer following a block from Stewart to expand their lead to 43-29. Cunningham went shot-for-shot with the Magic through the quarter, answering with midrange jumpers or trips to the foul line whenever Orlando cut it to single digits.
A pull-up 3 with under two minutes remaining extended the lead to 65-53, before Orlando’s run to finish the second quarter. Cunningham shot 5-for-9 in the period and 8-for-14 in the half, with four rebounds and just one assist. Banchero scored 12 in the second quarter for the Magic.
The points kept coming for Cunningham in the second half. A pair of free throws, followed by a 3-pointer, pushed the lead back to 11 with under three minutes left in the third. He exited the quarter with 37 points after Goga Bitadze goaltended a layup attempt with 36.7 for a 89-78 Pistons edge.
And finally, Cunningham’s midrange jumper with 31.3 seconds helped secure at least one more game in this series.
Tobias Harris steps up big in Game 5
The veteran forward entered Game 5 averaging 19 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Outside of his poor outside shooting − he’s just 4-for-24 from 3 in this series (16.7%) − he has reliably hit shots in moments of need. Including on Wednesday.
He was the Pistons’ second-leading scorer with 23 points and hit big shots in the second half as the Magic denied them the ability to run away with the game. His free throws with 22.9 seconds left iced the game.
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