CLEVELAND (AP) — The Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers were underdogs going into their first-round playoff series. Both teams will be looking to close things out on Wednesday night in their respective Game 5s.
Orlando looks to become the seventh No. 8 seed to advance when it plays at top-seeded Detroit.
The fourth-seeded Lakers, who are without the injured Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, host the fifth-seeded Rockets, who have missed Kevin Durant for three of the four games.
Cleveland hosts Toronto with that series tied at two games apiece. It’s the only first-round series where home court has held up. The Cavaliers won the first two before the Raptors evened things over the weekend.
The Magic — who are looking to win a playoff series for the first time since 2010 — have plenty of momentum after winning both games in Orlando. But they haven’t won a Game 5 on the road in the playoffs, going 0-9.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position to try to get four (wins), but right now it means nothing. We’ve got the advantage, and right now we’ve just got to make sure we keep that advantage,” coach Jamahl Mosley said.
Orlando is also looking to be only the second No. 8 seed to win its first-round series after advancing through the play-in tournament. Miami did it in 2023 when it dispatched Milwaukee in five games. The Heat ended up advancing to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Denver.
Detroit hasn’t advanced past the first round since 2008. Pistons fans can take some solace that they were the last team to come back from a 3-1 first-round deficit as a top seed. And it was against the Magic in 2003.
“Backs are against the wall. … What are you going to do? You’re going to fight. You have to fight to the end, so let’s get back to the crib, protect the crib, and take it one game at a time,” Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart said. “The series is not over and we are going to keep fighting.”
It’s almost easy to forget the Lakers were widely expected to lose this series handily while playing without their top two scorers, because now they’re unexpectedly facing pressure to close it out at home in Game 5.
“Well, you have to kill them. It’s difficult to kill someone. Survival instinct says, ‘I want to stay alive,’ so you’ve got to be able to kill them,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Even though Doncic remains out with a left hamstring strain, Reaves could provide a boost. He will be a game-time decision after being sidelined nearly four weeks with a strained oblique.
The Rockets were loose at the end of practice Tuesday before heading to the airport to travel to Los Angeles. The Notorious B.I.G. song “Going Back to Cali” blared on the speakers as players laughed and danced between shots.
They remain confident despite the strong possibility that they’ll be without Durant for the fourth game in this series.
“We’re obviously the better team, I feel like,” Jabari Smith Jr. said. “So just knowing that, being confident, trusting our work.”
Orlando Magic at Detroit Pistons
When/Where to Watch: Game 5, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video).
Series: Magic lead 3-1.
Betting line: Pistons by 10 1/2.
What to Know: The Pistons have two All-Stars (Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren) for the first time since 2008, but both have not been at their best in the playoffs. Cunningham, an all-NBA candidate, averaged nearly 24 points, 10 assists and fewer than four turnovers a game in the regular season. He’s scoring nearly 30 points a game in the playoffs, but he’s averaging four more shots with a lower shooting percentage and is turning the ball over nearly seven times a game. Duren averaged almost 20 points and more than 10 rebounds in the regular season and has been held to single digits in both categories, getting outplayed by Wendell Carter Jr. and dunked on by Jamal Cain.
When/Where to Watch: Game 5, 7:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN).
Series: Tied, 2-2.
Betting line: Cavaliers by 8 1/2.
What to Know: This has been the only first-round series where the home team has won all four games. Toronto’s Scottie Barnes scored a game-high 23 points in Sunday’s 93-89 win and is the first player in franchise history to have four straight 20-point games to start a series. Cleveland committed 39 turnovers in its two losses at Toronto, which led to 40 Raptors points. James Harden has 24 turnovers in the series, including seven on Sunday. The Cavaliers are last in free-throw percentage during the playoffs, making 71.9%.
When/Where to Watch: Game 5, 10 p.m. EDT (ESPN).
Series: Lakers lead 3-1.
Betting line: Lakers by 4 1/2.
What to Know: The Lakers need a win not because the Rockets would have all the momentum with two straight victories, but also because the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder have already swept their way into the second round to await the winner. The Rockets’ offensive attack was terrible in the first two games in Los Angeles with or without Durant. Alperen Sengun and his teammates must maintain their improvements after scoring a series-high 115 points in Game 4.
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