04/29/26 08:55:00
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04/29 20:53 CDT Cade Cunningham scores 45, Pistons beat Magic 116-109 in Game 5
to stave off elimination
Cade Cunningham scores 45, Pistons beat Magic 116-109 in Game 5 to stave off
elimination
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
DETROIT (AP) --- Cade Cunningham scored a franchise playoff-record 45 points,
including a step-back jumper with 32 seconds left, and the top-seeded Detroit
Pistons beat the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic 116-109 on Wednesday night in Game
5 of their first-round series to stave off elimination.
Orlando leads the series 3-2 and will get a second chance to advance at home on
Friday night.
The Magic fell to 0-10 in franchise history on the road in a Game 5.
Detroit never trailed and went ahead by 15 early in the final quarter. The
Magic made one more run, pulling within three points on Paolo Banchero's sixth
3-pointer with 1:09 left. Banchero matched Cunningham with 45 points, also a
playoff career-high --- and missed 7 of 12 free throws.
The Pistons are hoping to bounce back from the brink of elimination as they did
against the Magic two-plus decades ago.
Detroit's comeback in 2003 as a No. 1 seed against eighth-seeded Orlando was
the first of seven times NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit this
century. The Denver Nuggets were the last team to pull off the feat in 2020,
when they became the first franchise in the league to do it twice in one
postseason.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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