Pistons’ Ausar Thompson gets honest about elimination scare vs. Magic

The Detroit Pistons diverted potential disaster to open the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Cade Cunningham already believes overcoming the 3-1 deficit over the Orlando Magic allowed his team to grow. Was Ausar Thompson equally honest?

Orlando came close to pulling off the biggest upset of the opening postseason round. All the Magic needed to do was win one more game to knock off the No. 1 seed out east.

Except Thompson, Cunningham and company flipped that deficit into a three-game winning streak. Thompson became honest about the elimination scare after dismantling the Magic 116-94.

By stating Detroit regained its confidence after briefly losing it.

“(We) learned what we need to do in order to win games one at a time and be disciplined throughout the whole series, not just when we’re down and on the brink of elimination,” Thompson told reporters post game.

Ausar Thompson on the Pistons’ confidence coming back from 3-1 and learning from the experience:

“1000%, (we) learned what we need to do in order to win games one at a time and be disciplined throughout the whole series, not just when we’re down and on the brink of elimination.” pic.twitter.com/4CaCHJHVNZ

— Jacob Richman (@JacobHRichman) May 3, 2026

Thompson and the Pistons struggled early in the first as Orlando briefly led 22-20. But the 23-year-old Oakland native sparked a massive momentum shift during the second quarter.

He poked the ball out near half court and turned the turnover into a slam dunk here:

Ausar Thompson rips Jalen Suggs and throws down a SLAM on the other end pic.twitter.com/b1l1GQSM1G

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 3, 2026

The 6-foot-7 guard became lauded for his defense throughout the series. Detroit turned to his long wingspan to protect the rim.

Thompson totaled 16 total blocks in the seven-game series including swatting five and four during Game 3 and 6, respectively. He also grabbed 16 steals in showing his defensive prowess.

Thompson and Cunningham saw growth each game. Head coach JB Bickerstaff never wavered in his belief in Detroit, though. Now the Pistons win a playoff series for the first time since the 2008 postseason.

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