Paolo Banchero piled up 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists and the Orlando Magic pulled away from the visiting Detroit Pistons 113-91 on Sunday night.
Wendell Carter Jr. had 19 points and eight rebounds and Markelle Fultz made all eight of his shots for 16 points. Franz Wagner added 13 points and Jalen Suggs chipped in 11 as the Magic completed a four-game sweep of the season series.
Banchero, who made a game-winning three-point play against Detroit in the teams’ last meeting, has now scored 20 or more points in a team-high 39 games this season.
The Pistons have lost eight of their last nine games. Evan Fournier led Detroit with 17 points, Simone Fontecchio put up 15, Jalen Duren added 11 and Isaiah Stewart had 10.
Orlando led 59-50 at halftime, scoring 36 of those points in the paint and shooting 62.9 percent from the field. The halftime score was the largest margin during the half, as Orlando outscored Detroit 16-9 in the last six minutes.
Carter led the way with 15 points and Banchero tossed in 14.
The Magic quickly pulled away in the second half with a 20-3 run.
Banchero got it going with a midrange jumper. His layup with 9:32 left in the quarter made it 67-50 and prompted Detroit coach Monty Williams to call timeout.
After a Pistons free throw, Banchero made a pullup jumper, then set up a 3-pointer for Gary Harris and a layup for Wagner. Banchero completed the outburst with a 3-pointer and two free throws for a 79-53 lead.
A couple of Carter free throws nudged the lead to 27, 83-56, with 3:26 left in the quarter. Detroit finished the quarter on a 15-6 run to cut Orlando’s advantage to 18. Fontecchio and Fournier combined for 11 of those points.
Fournier opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, then set up a James Wiseman dunk to pull the Pistons within 89-76.
With the score 93-80, the Magic put the game away with a 9-0 run. Suggs finished it off with a 3-pointer.
–Field Level Media
