The Detroit Pistons (19-39) came up short tonight, losing to the Orlando Magic (25-31) in overtime 116-112. The Pistons were down by as many as 22 points during the first half before going on a 30-12 run to cut the Magic’s lead to four to end the first half. A late three from Magic center Nikola Vucevic gave the Magic a 108-105 lead with 7.9 seconds in the fourth quarter, but a three-point make from Pistons guard Langston Galloway tied the game, sending it into overtime. The Pistons found themselves in a familiar situation late in overtime, down 115-112 with a few seconds remaining, but the Magic held on and was able to steal a win from the Pistons thanks to great defense from Magic forward Aaron Gordon.
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Derrick Rose (hip) and Svi Mykhailiuk (hip) both returned to action tonight. Rose and Svi both missed the previous five games before returning to action tonight.
Luke Kennard (knee) remains out for the Pistons but is expected to return sometime after the All-Star break.
Christian Wood finished tonight’s game with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Wood has been a nice surprise for Detroit since joining the starting lineup. With tonight’s performance, Wood is now averaging 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.8 three-point makes and 0.8 blocks through five games. Teams were interested in Wood before the trade deadline, and Wood is set to become a free agent this upcoming off-season. Detroit will want to make sure Wood is apart of their long term plans.
Thon Maker finished tonight’s game with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Tony Snell finished with 16 points and four triples.
For the Magic, Aaron Gordon led the charge with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a nice all-around performance. Gordon will be participating in the Slam Dunk Contest this All-Star weekend.
After tonight, the Pistons are off until next week due to the All-Star break. Next Thursday, the Pistons return home to face Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks at 7 PM.
