Magic Notes: Game 6 Collapse, F. Wagner, Game 7

The No. 8 Magic had a great chance to complete their first-round upset of the top-seeded Pistons on Friday. They led 60-38 at halftime and were up 24 points early in the third quarter, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

However, the rest of the game was an entirely different story, as Orlando only managed to score 19 points over the final two quarters, the fewest points in a half in NBA playoff history. The Magic missed 23 shots in a row over a prolonged stretch, ultimately losing by 14 points.

“I think they were just playing more desperate than us, playing harder than us,” guard Desmond Bane said. “Whether it was offensive rebounds or heating up their pressure to get steals, it really kind of took us out of our stuff, messed with our flow. I mean, it’s going to be hard to win games (when) you score 19 points in a half, and I thought a lot of that was because they came out with more energy than us in the second half.”

While there’s recent precedent for the Magic collapsing — Toronto went on a historic 31-0 run against Orlando on March 29, Robbins notes — Friday’s game was different due to the stakes.

“This team always shows fight,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “There’s no other way to put it: This does suck. You know, you have a 24-point lead, and we let it go, and I think that the reality is it’s got to sting, and it’s got to hurt right now. But you’ve got to be able to bounce back, and you’ve given yourself an opportunity to go get it done in Game 7.”

Here’s more on the Magic, whose Game 7 matchup at Detroit will take place on Sunday at 3:30 pm ET:

• Mike Prada of The Athletic shares some of the historically inept stats from Game 6. The Magic shot just 4-of-37 in the second half, the worst field goal percentage (10.8%) in a half by any team — regular season or playoffs — since 1997/98. They were 3-for 17 in the third quarter, when they scored 11 points, and 1-of-20 in the fourth, when they only managed eight. The 1-for-20 mark was, unsurprisingly the worst field goal percentage (5.0%) in a playoff quarter in the play-by-play era, Prada adds.
• Star forward Franz Wagner has been ruled out of Game 7 as he continues to deal with a right calf strain, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. The 24-year-old German suffered the injury in the third quarter of Game 5.
• As badly as the second half of Game 6 went for Orlando, the team remains confident it can emerge victorious on Sunday and advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2010, according to Beede. “We all believe already what we’re about to go do,” guard Anthony Black said. “It’s one game. That’s all that matters,” added star forward Paolo Banchero. “We’ve got to do whatever it takes.”