Pistons 102, Magic 86: Orlando Ends Summer League on Wrong Foot

The Magic's Summer League run comes to an end.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 16, 2022

Pistons 102, Magic 86: Orlando Ends Summer League on Wrong Foot /

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic are heading back home after finishing its Summer League campaign, which ended in a 102-86 loss Saturday afternoon to the Detroit Pistons.

The Magic jumped out to an early lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 7-0 run to put them up seven heading into the second quarter. The lead grew to double digits in the second quarter, but the Pistons went into full gear and erased their deficit, trailing by just one point going into the locker rooms at halftime.

The Pistons pushed their way into the driver's seat in the third quarter as the Magic began to run out of steam, leading to a cruising victory in the fourth quarter.

The Magic was led by 2019 second-round pick Justin James, an NBA veteran with the Sacramento Kings who landed his first Summer League start this afternoon. James scored a team-high 18 points.

Point guard Tommy Kuhse also made an impact off the bench, scoring 13 points but struggling on an inefficient 4 of 11 from the field.

For the Pistons, Charlie Moore led all scorers with 21 points, while Jules Bernard scored 20 off the bench.

With the Magic's loss today, the team finished with three losses after winning its first two. While the win-loss record might not indicate a successful Summer League, the team saw a lot of upside from several developmental projects, including No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero and second-round pick Caleb Houstan.

The Magic will now take what it has built from Las Vegas and apply it when the team gets back together for training camp in September.

Published Jul 16, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.