Magic collapse in Game 6 vs. Pistons with NBA-record shooting futility
The Orlando Magic held a 22-point halftime lead but missed 23 straight field goals in a shocking Game 6 loss.
ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic made history on May 1 — just not the sort the franchise or its long-suffering fans hoped it would see after entering halftime with a seemingly insurmountable 22-point lead. Orlando outscored the visiting Detroit Pistons 35-12 in the second quarter, a potential knockout blow to the Eastern Conference's top seed. Only six No.
8s all-time , since the league adopted its 16-team postseason format in 1984, have previously toppled a No. 1 in the opening round. Instead, the Magic cracked under the pressure head coach Jamahl Mosley acknowledged before the game and instead described as a privilege, producing the worst offensive half ever seen in the modern era of the NBA playoffs.
Playing without injured forward Franz Wagner , the Magic missed 23 consecutive field goal attempts and scored just 19 points after the break. Detroit turned a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit into a 93-79 win at the Kia Center to force a decisive Game 7 at 3:30 p. m.
on May 3. Orlando shattered the previous record-playoff low of 23 points in a single half, set by the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals and later matched three separate times. They did so by going more than 14 minutes of game time — and 45 minutes of real time — without putting the ball in the hoop against the league's third-stingiest defense.