Magic forward Franz Wagner will remain out for Friday’s Game 6, tweets Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. The 24-year-old German strained his right calf during Monday’s Game 4, which gave the No. 8 Magic a 3-1 lead in their first-round matchup against the top-seeded Pistons, and was sidelined for Wednesday’s Game 5 loss in Detroit.
Through four playoff games this spring, Wagner averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 steals in 30.5 minutes per night, with a .439/.333/.933 shooting line. He was also Orlando’s primary defender on Cade Cunningham, who erupted for 45 points on Wednesday to help Detroit stave off elimination, observes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Cunningham, who set the Pistons’ single-game playoff record for points, had only recorded 17 points on 6-of-24 shooting (plus six turnovers) when he was being defended by Wagner, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
Still, as Robbins writes, the Magic’s problems on Wednesday were largely self-inflected, giving up 16 offensive rebounds and making just 16 of their 30 free throws in the seven-point loss. Paolo Banchero (45 points on 17-of-31 shooting, nine rebounds, seven assists in 41 minutes) had “one of the best games of his life,” but even he struggled at the line (5-of-12), according to Robbins.
“They played really hard, but that’s how they always play,” Banchero said of the Pistons. “In front of their home crowd, they brought their energy, they attacked the boards, gave themselves second-chance points. Yeah, we didn’t expect them to lay down, and they didn’t lay down, and we gave ourselves a chance. But they did just a little more on some of the little things.”
Cunningham and Banchero became just the second players in NBA history to score 45 points while dueling against each other in the playoffs, per Youngmisuk, joining Donovan Mitchell (51) and Jamal Murray (50) in 2020.
“That’s what’s up,” Cunningham said. “I’m sure it was a great game. Hope the fans enjoy it, but it was a great win for us.
“… Not everybody is blessed with those types of opportunities to have pressure and things on the line like that. A lot of times I feel undeserving of how great of moments I get to be a part of. Just try to make the most of it.”
The Magic will be looking to bounce back and wrap up the first-round upset on Friday in a matchup of two teams with very similar strengths (physicality, defense) and weaknesses (shooting), Robbins notes. The Orlando has gone 8-1 at home in the playoffs under head coach Jamahl Mosley, but the team will be missing Wagner, one of its best players.
“We’re going to be in front of our home crowd on Friday, so it’s our turn to protect home,” Banchero said. “We’ve done a great job at that. Obviously, they’re going to be desperate. We’re going to be desperate. So it’s going to be another war. We’ve just got to be ready for it.”