Pistons pound the Magic in paint and meet them at the rim to end their long home playoff win drought
DETROIT (AP) — Ben Wallace and Rick Mahorn, like proud uncles, watched the Detroit Pistons pound the Orlando Magic in the paint and meet them at the rim in a 98-83 win that tied their first-round series at a game apiece. “I'm sure they appreciated it,” Pistons power forward Isaiah Stewart said. Wallace, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Mahorn, an enforcer for the Bad Boys, helped the Pistons win a lot of games that looked like Wednesday night's slugfest.
Stewart had two blocks, including one that denied Paolo Banchero a dunk. “I’m willing to lay my body on the line to make those plays for the energy,” Stewart said. Top-seeded Detroit held eighth-seeded Orlando to 33% shooting and season lows in points and field goals.
The Pistons forced 19 turnovers and blocked 11 shots. “When we play defense at the level we’re capable of, it triggers everything for us,” Pistons coach J. B.
Bickerstaff said. “We can be an elite defensive team, a disruptive defense. It's Pistons basketball.
That’s what it looks like. “We had one off night and it came at a bad time. ” In Game 1, the Pistons had a sluggish start in each half and allowed the Magic to make almost half their shots All five Orlando starters scored at least 16 points in a 112-101 win.