Magic Missing 23 Straight Shots to Blow 24-Point Lead to Pistons Leaves Fans Shocked – “That’s Nasty Work”

Orlando Magic missed 23 straight shots in the 4th quarter and made only one of their final 27 shots in the game.

Magic Missing 23 Straight Shots to Blow 24-Point Lead to Pistons Leaves Fans Shocked – “That’s Nasty Work”

Paolo Banchero shooting over Cade Cunningham (Image credits - Firstsportz)

In Short
  • The Orlando Magic blew a 24-point lead and lost Game 6 to the Detroit Pistons, marking a historic playoff collapse.
  • The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots in the second half, scoring only 19 points during that period.
  • This loss sets up a decisive Game 7, with the Pistons hoping to capitalize on the Magic's poor performance.

The Orlando Magic may have just pulled off one of the biggest choke jobs in the playoffs this year. Heading into Game 6, the Magic were up by 3-2 and had the opportunity to close out the series at the Kia Center on Friday night.

Things were going according to plan for the home side as they raced off to a 22-point lead at the end of the first half. Their offense and defense were in full flow during the first half. However, everything fell apart in the second half. While the Detroit Pistons, led by Cade Cunningham, returned with a different intensity, Paolo Banchero and his teammates completely switched off.

It was a historically poor second half: they missed 23 consecutive shots and made just one of their final 28 field goal attempts. The Magic scored just 19 points in the entire second half. They went for an entire 45 minutes without scoring a basket, going scoreless from 4:14 left in the third quarter until the 2:24 mark of the fourth quarter.  

The Orlando Magic were well on course to become the seventh No. 8 seed in NBA history to knock out the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The Detroit Pistons have been more or less disappointing in this series as they have struggled to find a secondary scorer after Cunningham. Their 2025-26 campaign was in serious jeopardy on Friday night till the Magic shot themselves in the foot.

Cunningham has shown flashes of brilliance in this series and is the only player performing the way he did in the regular season. The Pistons have crawled their way back into the series from 3-1 and will hope to see more from Cunningham’s teammates in Game 7 at home.

Fans react to Orlando Magic falling apart against the Detroit Pistons in Game 6

The second half display from the Orlando Magic may be the biggest meltdown in NBA history. While credit should be given to the Detroit Pistons for their grit and upping their intensity in the second half, it doesn’t take away from what the NBA world witnessed from Banchero and his team.

The Magic’s 23 straight misses in the second half were the most by any playoff team this century. After the game, fans took to social media to react to what they had just witnessed.

Fans could not believe what they were seeing when the Magic didn’t score a single bucket for 45 minutes. It was the coldest stretch for any team in playoff history. The Magic made history on Friday night, but for the wrong reasons.

Nick Wright left stunned after Orlando Magic’s historic Game 6 collapse

Not only did the Orlando Magic lose their 22-point lead in the second half, but they also ended up losing the game by 14 points. After scoring just eight points in the fourth quarter, the Magic went on to lose Game 6 93-79. It was the biggest comeback by a road team facing elimination since the 1996–97 season. 

Paolo Banchero shooting a three
Paolo Banchero shooting a three (Image credits – Underdog/X)

After the meltdown, Nick Wright took to his social media account and was left in disbelief.

19 second half points (a playoff record for any half) in a closeout game at home when you were up 20+ is one of the craziest occurrences in recent NBA history. We had a team down 50 in the first half of an elimination game yesterday and that’s not 10% as painful/insane as this.

Nick Wright on X

The Magic will need to move on quickly from their shocking Game 6 loss. It is the third first-round series to go to seven games this year. The winner will face the winner between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors, which has also gone to seven games.

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