Rookie Saben Lee had a career-high 21 points and four assists off the bench, and the visiting Detroit Pistons avenged a loss to Orlando two nights earlier with a 105-93 win on Tuesday.
Lee didn’t have a made 3-pointer prior to Tuesday but knocked down all three of his attempts against the Magic.
Josh Jackson had 18 points and seven rebounds and Jerami Grant supplied 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Dennis Smith Jr. added 14 points and Saddiq Bey chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals as the Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak.
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Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 20 points but that was 17 points fewer than he had on Sunday in Orlando’s 105-96 victory. Evan Fournier had 14 points and Terrence Ross tossed in 13 with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Michael Carter-Williams added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists but the Magic saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.
The Pistons opened the second half with a 16-6 spurt to grab a 69-57 lead. Grant had six of those points and Smith completed it with a 3-pointer.
Vucevic scored eight points in the last six minutes of the quarter but Detroit extended its lead to 79-65. Bey finished off Detroit’s strong quarter by stealing the ball from Ross and scoring in transition.
Isaiah Stewart’s short jumper in the opening minute of the fourth nudged Detroit’s lead to 18. Ross made a 3-pointer with nine minutes left to pull Orlando within 94-81.
The Magic couldn’t make up any more ground. When Jackson drove for a layup with five minutes to go, the Pistons’ advantage was 97-77.
Lee’s corner 3 in the final two minutes put the finishing touches on his big night.
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Detroit led by as much as 15 points in the first quarter but had to settle for a 53-51 halftime lead.
Lee led the Pistons with 13 points but poor perimeter shooting — 5-for-21 on 3-pointers — prevented Detroit from maintaining its big early advantage.
–Field Level Media