Winners and Losers from the Magic's Game 1 win over Pistons

The No. 1 Orlando Magic stormed into the Motor City and stole Game 1 over Cade Cunningham and the No. 1 Detroit Pistons, 112-101. Who were the few winners -- and, conversely, losers -- from the Magic's double-digit win?! Let's dive into it!

Winner: Paolo Banchero

Magic Pistons — Apr 19, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) and forward Paolo Banchero (5) talk during a timeout in the first half against the Detroit Pistons during a first round game of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Cade Cunningham was the best player on the floor. But there was no bigger winner than Banchero, outside of the Pistons' All-NBA guard. He didn't score in the fourth quarter, but Banchero rose to the occassion, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting with nine boards and four dimes. His looked calm, cool and collective -- which is what we've seen from Banchero in past postseason affairs.

Loser: Cade Cunningham's supporting cast

Pistons Magic — Apr 10, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) reacts after a play against the Charlotte Hornets during first quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Even though it took a little while to find his rhythm, Cunningham poured on 39 points on 13-of-27 shooting. The Pistons' 10 other players combined to score the final 62 on a combined 36.0 percent shooting (18-for-50). Tobias Harris, who, historically, isn't a promising postseason performer, wasn't very good ... and was the only other Piston to reach double figures; Jalen Duren was even worse; the Pistons' bench, which shot a combined 26.0 percent, did one better!

Winner: Jalen Suggs

He's oftentimes streaky, and he's prone to getting in foul trouble (he fouled out in this game). But you take the bad with the good when it comes to Jalen Suggs. The bad was that he missed 10 of his final 14 (including seven of his final eight threes) after draining his first two. The good was that he was impacting the game in practically every other phase. It truly felt like the Magic had cloned Suggs before the game. He was anywhere and everywhere in perfect Jalen Suggs fashion.

Loser: 3-point shooting

The two rims developed their share of bumps and bruises from the basketball whenever the two teams shot from 3-point range. Both teams made 10 threes apiece ... on 66 combined attempts. Only four players -- Banchero, Suggs, Duncan Robninson and Cade Cunningham -- made multiple triples. Yikes!

Winner: Jamahl Mosley

Entering Game 1, Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley had won only four postseason games across two rounds. Though none of those wins were on the road. The Magic's 11-point win marked his first.

Mosley has caught a lot of heat this season -- plenty of it warranted. But he completely outcoached Bickerstaff in Game 1. Orlando looked more prepared on both ends of the floor, and Mosley did a good job managing the game (timeouts) while shrinking the substitution pattern down the stretch. He deserves credit where it's due.

Loser: Home teams sweeping Game 1

The higher seeds were 6-0 in Game 1 ... until now. Sorry, Detroit!

Magic will take the floor for Game 2 on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. EST!