The faces on the Orlando Magic’s bench with 1:40 remaining in the fourth quarter Friday told the story almost as much as the scoreboard.
Jett Howard, Franz Wagner, Jamal Cain, Moe Wagner, Noah Penda, Goga Bitadze and Wendell Carter Jr. all sat stone-faced in apparent disbelief over what they and their teammates were experiencing.
The NBA has existed for 79 years.
What happened Friday night had never happened before.
After staking themselves to a 24-point lead early in the third quarter of Game 6 against the Detroit Pistons, with an opportunity to become the seventh No. 8 seed to upset a No. 1 seed right then and there, the Magic collapsed.
In the process, they produced the lowest-scoring half in league playoff history. The Magic scored only 19 points in the second half.
On their home floor.
And they lost the game, 93-79.
Read more on Orlando’s shocking Game 6 collapse here.
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