Paolo Banchero gets wild bounce to help Magic clinch Game 3 win vs. Pistons

After dominating the Eastern Conference all season, the top-seeded Detroit Pistons find themselves down 2-1 to the Orlando Magic after dropping Game 3 on the road. The Magic are now firmly in the driver’s seat after Paolo Banchero put the final nail in the coffin in their first home game of the 2026 playoffs.

Banchero was quiet in the first half before taking over in the final 24 minutes to give his team a shocking 2-1 lead. He hit the biggest shot of his life from the top of the arc with 38.8 seconds remaining when his rainbow three-pointer bounced off the back of the rim and 10 feet in the air before dropping through the net to give Orlando a 113-105 lead.

PAOLO BANCHERO WITH THE DAGGER pic.twitter.com/X75peFUzkM

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Banchero struggled from the floor all afternoon, but he kept hitting difficult shots when the Magic needed it most. He was 2-for-5 from deep in Game 3, with both of his made triples coming with a high degree of difficulty.

Banchero ended up one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. He shot just 6-for-17 from the field, but made 11 of his 14 free throw attempts.

Banchero tied Desmond Bane with a team-high 25 points to lead the Magic to victory. Bane could hardly miss from downtown, shooting 7-for-9 from deep, including a 180-degree turnaround fadeaway from the corner in the third quarter.

Franz Wagner added 17 points, five rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes, his most since returning from a two-month-long injury absence on April 1. Wagner also hit a clutch triple late in the game to guide the upset.

MVP candidate Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with a game-high 27 points and nine assists in a losing effort. It was a mix of good and bad for Cunningham, who was quiet for most of the game before taking over in the fourth quarter and nearly leading a comeback. He also ended with nine turnovers.

The Pistons and Magic remain in Orlando for Game 4 in an absolute must-win scenario for Detroit. Conversely, Orlando finds itself in a unique position to potentially take a commanding 3-1 lead as the eight-seed.

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