Pistons sputter in overtime, lose to Magic 115-106

In a game that was meaningless to one team and vital to the other, the Detroit Pistons (29-33) blew a golden opportunity as they lost to the Orlando Magic (19-43) in overtime.  Detroit was held to without a field goal in the extra period.

If it’s now how you start, then it’s how you finish.

Unfortunately for the Detroit Pistons, the game ended the same way it began.

A late shooting slump doomed the Pistons, who fell to the Orlando Magic 115-106 on Friday night at the Amway Center.  Detroit is now three games behind the Miami Heat for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

A Nikola Vucevic jumper 25 seconds in broke the scoreless tie.  Orlando got out to an early 7-0 lead, which forced Stan Van Gundy to take a timeout just over two minutes in.

Detroit’s first field goal came on an Ish Smith pull up at 9:07.

Aaron Gordon, who led all scorers, posted 15 of his 27 points in the first quarter.

The Pistons trailed by as many as nine in the opening period, but would trim Orlando’s lead to 31-29 at the end of one.

Yet turnovers continued to plague Detroit, as they committed 10 of them in the first half.

Eventually, their defense clamped down in the second quarter.  A Reggie Bullock triple with 2.1 seconds remaining narrowed the gap, and Orlando entered the break holding a slim 53-52 advantage.

Early in the third quarter, the Pistons appeared poised to finally pull away.  Their shots began to fall, thanks to some solid separation off the dribble.  A James Ennis 3-pointer gave Detroit their first lead of the night, 57-55.

Less than two minutes later, the Pistons had accumulated their largest lead of the night, 65-56.

But Orlando came right back with a 7-0 run, capped off by D.J. Augustin‘s 3-pointer.  Van Gundy called another timeout with 7:43 to play in the third.

Once again, Detroit began to distance themselves from Orlando.  Dwight Buycks‘ step back jumper at the 3:03 mark put the Pistons in front 82-75.  However, they would not score for the remainder of the period.

The Magic clawed their way back, and both teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 82.

Despite building several leads, the Pistons couldn’t shake Orlando.  A devastating 8-0 run put the Magic in front 101-100 with 3:10 remaining in the game.

Orlando, leading 104-102, had a chance to win it in the final seconds.  Vucevic slipped on a drive to the basket and kicked it out to Shelvin Mack in the left corner.  Mack’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim and Blake Griffin came down with the rebound.

He quickly passed it to Ennis in the open floor, whose breakaway jam tied it at 104-104 with 7.2 seconds to play.  Neither team could score in the final moments of regulation.

Overtime, just like the beginning of the game, was all Orlando.  The Pistons didn’t make a single field goal in the extra period, going 0-of-8 from the floor.  Their two points were courtesy of Anthony Tolliver‘s free throws with 32.7 seconds left.

Detroit will continue their road trip in the Sunshine State tomorrow when they visit the Heat. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 pm on Fox Sports Detroit.