ORLANDO, FL – It was a battle of the teams with the two worst records in the NBA this season. The Detroit Pistons (11- 37) lost to the Orlando Magic (10-40) on Friday night at the Amway Center.
Franz Wagner continued his high level of play with 24 points, leading all of the scorers in the game. Mo Bamba added to the scoring tally, with 18 points as well as 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Detroit come into the game without standout Jeramy Grant, who is still working himself back from protocols. Rookie Cade Cunningham was shut down by Magic rookie Jalen Suggs, being held to 4 points through three quarters and a total of 8 points and four assists for the game. Not a bad defensive effort seeing that Cunningham is coming off of a 34 point performance.
Orlando was able to have their way with the Detroit defense once the began to push for fast breaks and attacked to Pistons in the paint.
Orlando led the Pistons 12-6 in fast break points through the first three quarters and dominated with 50 points generated inside of the paint.
Orlando head coach Jamahl Mosely was pleased with his team’s play tonight.
“I I really thought their pace was great. We talked about it at half time, not getting into the lull of the game.” Said Mosely. “I liked the way they shared the basketball and thought that was really goo for us tonight.”
Detroit was lead by Kevin Lyles with 18 points, followed by Sadie Bey with 17 points. The Pistons could only manage 37% shooting against a tough Magic defense who swarmed and batted loses balls away on the inside.
Orlando, on the other hand, had a 50% filed goal percentage on the night, and shot 48% from beyond the arc.
Wendell Carter Jr. did some of the dirty work in tonight;s game, by grabbing 11 rebounds, while Bamba added an additional blocked shots.
The Magic had six player shoot in double figures on the night, including Terrance Ross who went on a multiple shot 3-point run in the fourth quarter to help keep the game out of reach.
“We take out medicine on this games where we don’t go out there and focus on the things that we need to have.” Said Center Mo Bamba. “You know this league is crazy. We try to stay positive , keep growing and keep building.”
Orlando faces the Dallas Mavericks at The Amway Center on Sunday, January 30th at 7pm.
