The eight seed Orlando Magic upset the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in their series opener Sunday, 112-101. It was an impressive victory but also fits Orlando’s recent history of taking a single game in a first-round series.
The Magic haven’t won a playoff series since 2010, when they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals. Since then, they’ve lost all six of their first-round series, and won a single game in four of them.
Orlando Magic are better than a normal eight seed
The Magic finished in eighth place in the East with a 45-37 record, though they were only one game worse than the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors. Star forward Franz Wagner missed 48 games, which may well have been the difference between a play-in appearance and a fifth-place finish.
Sunday, they dominated the Pistons near the basket, outscoring them 54 to 43 on points in the paint. All five Magic starters scored 16 points or more, with Paolo Banchero leading the way with 23. Wagner and Banchero both shot over 50 percent while the Magic held Pistons All-Star center Jalen Duren to only eight points.