What Magic can learn from collapse in Game 6 vs. Pistons

One minute into the second half of Game 6, the Orlando Magic had a 24-point lead and were poised to eliminate the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. They proceeded to score the fewest points ever in an NBA playoff half in a 93-79 loss.

The Pistons played relentless defense and held the cold-shooting Magic to just 19 points after halftime. They've won two straight elimination games to send the series to a Game 7 in Detroit on Sunday.

2018 Houston Rockets had previous record for playoff futility

The Houston Rockets were in a similar situation to this year's Orlando Magic back in 2018. They had a chance to upset a heavily-favored opponent, playing at home with a 3-2 series lead, and took a big lead in the first half.

What happened after that? The Rockets scored only 25 points after halftime, taking half of their shots from behind the three-point arc and shooting poorly. The Golden State Warriors eventually cruised to a 115-86 win and took the series in Game 7. Just like the Magic, those Rockets were playing without their second-best player: Franz Wagner for this year's Magic, Chris Paul for the 2018 Rockets.

Friday night, the entire Magic team was outscored by a single Pistons player after halftime — Cade Cunningham, who put up 24 points in the last two quarters. Orlando didn't have turnover issues, aside from a brutal stretch of five giveaways in eight possessions, but their shooting was truly miserable, going 4-for-37 in the second half.

Rockets' collapse should be a lesson for Magic

At one point, the Magic missed 23 consecutive shots, which is how the Pistons managed to tie the game with 7:36 to play, erasing the Magic's 24-point lead in less than 16 minutes. Orlando is one of the NBA's worst three-point shooting teams, yet they launched 18 triples in a second half where they had a 24-point lead.

There was a cascading effect to focusing on jump shots, one of which was that the Magic struggled to get to the foul line. Paul Reed blocked three layups, but a few plays by a backup center shouldn't have stopped the Magic from attacking the paint entirely.

That's how the Rockets blew their own upset attempt in 2018. They didn't seem stunned by their awful finish to Game 6, taking a double-digit halftime lead. But they kept settling for outside shots, going 1-for-21 from three-point range after halftime, despite missing 27 straight threes.

Orlando might be shocked by their Game 6 collapse, but there was a reason they had a 24-point lead in the game and a 3-2 lead in the series. The Magic were pounding the Pistons inside, beating the fearsome Detroit rebounders on the glass and getting to the free-throw line. They forgot nearly all of that in the last 24 minutes of Game 6.

The Magic showed they weren't afraid of the Pistons in the first 5.5 games of this series. If they can shake off the historic ineptitude of Game 6, there's no reason they can't complete their historic comeback in Game 7.