DETROIT (AP) — Ben Wallace and Rick Mahorn, like proud uncles, watched the Detroit Pistons pound the Orlando Magic in the paint and meet them at the rim in a 98-83 win that tied their first-round series at a game apiece.
“I’m sure they appreciated it,” Pistons power forward Isaiah Stewart said.
Wallace, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Mahorn, an enforcer for the Bad Boys, helped the Pistons win a lot of games that looked like Wednesday night’s slugfest.
Stewart had two blocks, including one that denied Paolo Banchero a dunk.
“I’m willing to lay my body on the line to make those plays for the energy,” Stewart said.
Top-seeded Detroit held eighth-seeded Orlando to 33% shooting and season lows in points and field goals. The Pistons forced 19 turnovers and blocked 11 shots.
“When we play defense at the level we’re capable of, it triggers everything for us,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We can be an elite defensive team, a disruptive defense. It’s Pistons basketball. That’s what it looks like.
“We had one off night and it came at a bad time.”
In Game 1, the Pistons had a sluggish start in each half and allowed the Magic to make almost half their shots All five Orlando starters scored at least 16 points in a 112-101 win.
The Pistons were the aggressors in Game 2, blocking seven shots in the opening 12 minutes to tie a franchise playoff record for blocks in a quarter.
In the third, they went on a 30-3 run and outscored the Magic 38-16.
Detroit coasted in the fourth quarter, winning a playoff game for the first time at Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons ended an NBA-record, 11-game home losing streak in the playoffs that dates to 2008, when the franchise played at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
“Obviously, we’ve heard it,” Tobias Harris said after scoring 16 points, blocking two shots and making two steals.
The Magic, a little reluctantly, gave the Pistons some credit for their defense.
“They did a heck of a job of reaching, grabbing and holding,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “They protected that paint and our ability to get downhill.”
Jalen Suggs scored 19 and Banchero had 18 for the Magic. They combined to make just 14 of 35 shots.
“They met us at the rim a few times, and they brought the intensity on defense,” Banchero said. “But we got good looks, and nobody really had a great night shooting the ball.”
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