Magic Defeat Pistons 112-101 in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Playoffs

The Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 112-101 in Game 1 of the playoffs in Detroit, ESPN reported. Orlando followed that up after clinching the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 121-90 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Magic had faced the Hornets in the play-in game after Charlotte's overtime victory over the Miami Heat. Prior to the game, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley showed players a highlight reel of their college plays during shootaround. The highlight reel, made by the team's video coordinator, included two clips each of players who had been in the NCAA tournament.

The reel featured Paolo Banchero pump-faking, driving left baseline and performing a two-handed dunk against North Carolina in the 2022 Final Four as a Duke freshman. Jonathan Isaac threw down a dunk while at Florida State, as shown in the highlight reel. Moritz Wagner hit a 3 while being fouled for Michigan, featured in the highlight reel.

Desmond Bane drilled a deep 3 for TCU, also included. Tristan da Silva played at Colorado and was featured in the highlight reel. Franz Wagner played at Michigan, appearing in the clips. The highlight reel ended with Jalen Suggs hitting a buzzer-beater from 40 feet near the half-court logo to defeat UCLA in the 2021 Final Four for Gonzaga.

This came after the Orlando Magic lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-in tournament last Wednesday. The play-in game against Philadelphia was a four-point game with 3:25 to go before Orlando missed six of its last seven shots.

Earlier, the Magic had lost 113-108 to the Boston Celtics, who rested rotation players on the final day of the regular season.

Jamahl Mosley stated to ESPN that he did not listen to outside noise about his future before the win over Charlotte.