Pistons finish comeback for first playoff series win in 18 years: 'It means a lot'

Detroit — The Pistons finally did something they haven't done since 2008: Win a playoff series. In Game 7 at Little Caesars Arena, they defeated the Orlando Magic, 116-94, on Sunday to end the drought. It took winning three straight games after falling behind 3-1 in the series to the eight-seeded Magic — highlighted by a 24-point comeback in Game 6 at Orlando — but the Pistons find themselves in the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in almost two decades.

"It's great. We had a great regular season. We built a lot of momentum going into the playoffs and to lose in the first round would've really stung.

I think it would've stung the city," Cade Cunningham said. If anyone knows the struggle that the franchise has gone through, it's Cunningham. Being drafted in 2021 and going through multiple seasons with 60-plus losses, including a 28-game losing streak during the 2023-2024 season, Cunningham took all the punches of falling flat in the NBA.

But ever since J. B. Bickerstaff became head coach, things changed.