The Orlando Magic had an epic collapse in game six and are taking plenty of heat for it, but what we witnessed last night was more about the Detroit Pistons.
Yes, the Magic missed a million shots and scored just 19 points in the entire second half, something I never thought I'd witness in the modern era. To hold a team to just 79 points in their home building is something straight out of the Goin' to Work era and it's been since then that I've seen a Pistons team that locked in on defense.
The Pistons finally played desperate
After looking dead in the 2nd quarter and getting down 22 at half, the season looked over for the Pistons. The fanbase was already going through the stages of grief in real time on social media, with Pistons Twitter executing a flawless reverse jinx for the ages.
The Pistons stayed calm, fed off the energy of their coach and best player, and went out in the second half and played with a defensive desperation we haven't seen all series.
The Pistons had five steals and EIGHT blocks in the second half alone, led by Cade Cunningham, who was unreal defending the ball and really set the tone for his team to follow.
Ausar Thompson was everywhere, closing on help defense for blocks any time the Magic saw any daylight.
And you have to mention BBall Paul Reed, who changed the tenor of the game in just a few minutes of action, racking up six points, six rebounds and three blocks in just 11 minutes and changing the energy of the game.
The Magic missed 21 straight shots, but nearly all of them were toughly contested and more times than not during the run, they didn't get a shot off at all.
The Pistons finally played like a team that knew its season was on the line, but if they don't do it again, it won't matter.
This is all fun, but there's a game 7
I don't know if I've ever had a mood swing as dramatic as last night, when I went from sulking and pacing around the house muttering to myself to running through the wall with joy an hour later.
But the Pistons can't be feeling themselves too much, as they still have work to do, and now they'll be playing a desperate Magic team that also has its season on the line and nothing to lose.
The Pistons can't come out casually as they have so many times in this series, and have to attack game seven with the same energy we saw in the second half last night. They have to play with that same desperation, take care of the ball and dominate the boards, or all the history they made will be forgotten.
The Pistons saved their season, but they still have work to do back in Detroit.
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