Beede’s Breakdown: Magic take commanding 3-1 series lead over No. 1 Pistons
Composure. That’s the word Magic coach Jamahl Mosley shared with his team after Orlando took a 2-1 series lead over the top-seeded Pistons over the weekend. Knowing the level of desperation that both sides would be playing with Monday night back inside Kia Center on NBC, Orlando knew it would need to play with even more composure than usual against a physical Detroit squad.
Behind a combined ...
Composure. That’s the word Magic coach Jamahl Mosley shared with his team after Orlando took a 2-1 series lead over the top-seeded Pistons over the weekend. Knowing the level of desperation that both sides would be playing with Monday night back inside Kia Center on NBC, Orlando knew it would need to play with even more composure than usual against a physical Detroit squad.
Behind a combined 59 points from Desmond Bane (22), Franz Wagner (19) and Paolo Banchero (18) in a low-scoring affair, the Magic played with composure down the stretch and finished on top 94-88 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over Detroit. Teams that lead a best-of-seven series 3-1 go on to win the series 95. 6% of the time (285-13).
Eighth-seeded Orlando ended the game on a 9-4 run after the game was tied at 85 with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter. Detroit failed to take care of the ball when the Magic scored 23 points off 20 takeaways. With the Magic in the driver’s seat, the best-of-seven series shifts back to Detroit for Wednesday’s Game 5 inside Little Caesars Arena (7 p.