DETROIT -- It would be easy to point to the box score reasons the Orlando Magic stole Game 1 from the Detroit Pistons.
Paolo Banchero had 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go with nine rebounds, another classic Playoff performance for the young player in his third playoff appearance.
Franz Wagner scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Pistons at arm's length and close the game.
Jalen Suggs was roaming and causing chaos on defense after hitting a pair of threes in the first quarter to help set the tone on both ends. Wendell Carter was dominant on the interior, locking out Jalen Duren and clearing the boards for the Magic to race ahead and pull away.
It makes you wonder: Who is this team? How did this team pull out a 112-101 victory over the 60-win, top-seeded Pistons to take a 1-0 series lead?
This is not the same team as the regular season. This is a new season. The Magic's new mindset has suddenly given them control of their Playoffs series.
"This is a new season," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Sunday's win. "We've talked about this a lot with these guys: Whatever story you told yourself during the regular season, that story is done. And now it's the playoffs. So it's an entirely new season. how we come together, how we play with poise, how we defend at a high level, how we communicate with each other, that's all part of this story right now."
While the Magic are not the seed they want to be, winning the elimination game in that fashion on Friday gave them new life. It gave them a vision of the team they always believed they could be.
It gave them the chance to let go of all of their disappointment and focus on the moment.
It is better late than never. And with the scores back to 0-0, the Magic still have a fighting chance.
What you do with a chance
Then again, maybe the Orlando Magic were not the typical 8-seed. They were a team everyone expected to be competing for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. They have at least two All-Star-level players. Maybe all they needed was some health and a chance.
The Magic cannot erase their regular season. What they can do it own it and move forward. They view this series as their chance to make good and achieve their preseason goals.
"There's nothing you can do to go back and change what happened," Paolo Banchero said after Sunday's win. "At the end of the day, we're here in the playoffs and go and do what we set out to do since October. You can't get too caught up with what happened in the regular season and the frustrations. You just have to come together and realize that we're fully healthy and clicking as a group."
From the jump, the Magic made sure they built on Friday's elimination game win over the Charlotte Hornets. They brought the same fiery defensive effort, holding the Pistons to 40.3 percent shooting, 10-for-32 shooting from three (31.2 percent) and a stellar 103.1 points per 100 possessions.
Orlando put the vice on just about everybody -- even Cade Cunningham, until he got himself going in the second half. About the only thing the Magic did wrong was put the Pistons on the foul line for 38 points and give up 25 fast-break points.
The Magic got a balanced effort offensively with all five starters scoring at least 16 points. Everyone contributed and made a big play to close the game. Eveyrone contributed in victory.
"I thought it was huge," Desmond Bane said in the locker room after Sunday's win. "It was multiple guys, too. Whether it was Tristan making shots, Paolo making plays, Franz making plays. All the way up and down the line. I think it says a lot about the maturity of this group and how far we have come.
"The only thing that matters is winning. Nothing else should be in question. I think the guys are allowing that to be the sole focus and sole priority. The results are showing."
Things are starting to come together. The Magic have taken advantage of the opporutnity so far. They are suddenly surging with confidence.
Moving past frustration
It is hard to imagine the team can move on from the feelings of frustration that seemed to consume them so quickly. It was a week ago that the Orlando Magic lost that dispiriting defeat to the Boston Celtics in the regular season finale.
That loss seemed to symbolize everything that was wrong with the team. Crashing out of the Play-In seemed possible.
But that is the thing that stands out: Those goals of getting out of the first round are still in front of them. And that realization, even in the face of going against a 60-win Detroit Pistons team, is enough to galvanize them.
All they needed was that chance and a change of mindset.
"It's impossible not to get excited for these games, especially when you have high-character guys around and competitors all throughout the locker room," Jalen Suggs said after Sunday's game. "We truly said that. We had a conversation about letting everything go and stepping into a new space and a new season."
They needed to show resolve in the face of everything that has happened to them.
It started with more focused practices and move forward after the regular season. They needed to exorcise some demons and walk all the talk they have had throughout the season.
They needed to show resiliency in their Game 1 victory. Orlando answered every run throughout the game.
When the Detroit Pistons cut the 13-point lead to two late in the first quarter, the Orlando Magic finished the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead by eight. When the Pistons got the deficit down to four at halftime, the Magic opened the third quarter with an 8-1 spurt. When Detroit tied the game with 7:04 to play in the third, Orlando reopened an 11-point lead with a 14-3 push.
The closest the Pistons got in the fourth quarter was four points. The Magic answered that with a 7-1 push to reopen a double-digit lead.
Those were all moments when frustration could have won -- and frustration did win at various times throughout the season.
The Magic were a different team to close this one out.
"I think everybody knows we have a really talented team," Franz Wagner said after Sunday's win. "Obviously, we didn't have the regular season that we wanted. I think we showed today that we belong here. It's got to be consistent, though. One game doesn't win the series. That's got to be our mindset moving forward."
The question now is whether the team can do this again.
Jamahl Mosley predicted that Game 2 would be much more difficult.
But maybe this is a new season. Maybe getting to the Playoffs was the reset the team needed.
Maybe Orlando is finally realizing its potential.
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