Cade Cunningham comes through for Pistons on the brink, outduels Magic star Paolo Banchero in Game 5

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham came through for the Pistons when they needed him. With Detroit teetering on the brink of elimination, Cunningham outdueled Orlando's Paolo Banchero in a sensational scoring matchup of former No. 1 overall picks.

Cunningham had a franchise playoff-record 45 points and the top-seeded Pistons held off the eighth-seeded Magic for a 116-109 win on Wednesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series, avoiding elimination for at least a couple of days.

“We dug ourselves a hole and now it’s time to climb our way out,” Cunningham said. “It’s possible.”

Orlando leads the series 3-2 and will get a second chance to advance at home on Friday night. If the Pistons win their first road game of the series, they will host a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.

Banchero also scored 45 points for a playoff career high — but missed 7 of 12 free throws — and fell one point short of equaling the franchise postseason record shared by Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard.

The Magic were out-rebounded by 16 and made just 16 of 30 free throws.

“We got to be better on the glass and obviously, better on the free-throw line,” said Banchero, drafted No. 1 overall by Orlando in 2022. “If we make our free throws, we got a real chance of winning the game. We lost by seven, and missed 14 free throws. That’s the game.”

Cunningham set a single-game playoff scoring record for Detroit that had stood since Dave Bing had 44 points in 1968. Isiah Thomas approached that mark with a 43-point performance in 1988.

In NBA history there was only one other playoff game with two players scoring 45 or more.

Donovan Mitchell scored 51 points for Utah in a win over Denver in 2020, while the Nuggets' Jamal Murray had 50 points.

When Detroit drafted Cunningham first overall in 2021, it was hoping he would have games like this one.

He was 13 of 23 from the field, made a playoff career-high five 3-pointers and was 14 of 14 at the line.

“We’re going to see this a long time,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s going to do a lot of special things.”

The 24-year-old Cunningham came up short in late-game situations with the ball earlier in the series and in last year's first-round series against the New York Knicks, but he was clutch in key moments to extend the matchup with the Magic.

The Pistons never trailed, going ahead by 17 points in the first half and by 15 early in the fourth quarter.

The Magic pulled within three points on Banchero’s sixth 3-pointer with 1:09 left.

On the ensuing possession after Ausar Thompson hustled for an offensive rebound, Cunningham made a step-back, 16-foot jumper to help seal it.

“Not everybody is blessed with those opportunities to have pressure and have things on the line like that,” Cunningham said. “I’m just thankful for it and trying to make the most out of it.

“We’ve had a great season so far and none of us want it to end.”

The Pistons are hoping to bounce back from the brink of elimination as they did against the Magic two-plus decades ago.

Detroit’s comeback in 2003 as a No. 1 seed against eighth-seeded Orlando was the first of seven times NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit this century. The Nuggets were the last team to pull off the feat six years ago — in the same series that featured Mitchell and Murray each scoring 50-plus point — and they became the first team in the league to do it twice in one postseason.

“You don't want to put yourself in this situation, but this is what we expected,” Bickerstaff said. “When our backs are against the wall, we come out swinging. We come out kicking. We come out scratching, biting, clawing.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives against Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the first half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0) guards Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) goes to the basket between Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva (23) and forward Jamal Cain (8) during the first half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) loses the ball against the defense from Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart, left, and guard Ausar Thompson, right, during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) reads to a basket scored against the Orlando Magic by guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cam York buried the winner 17:32 into overtime and chucked his stick into the crowd in a wild celebration to send the Philadelphia Flyers into the second round for the first time in six years with a 1-0 Game 6 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

The Flyers are set for a second-round showdown against Carolina.

“Just tried to put it there,” York said. “We knew that it was going to be a greasy one. It felt really good to see that one go in.”

Dan Vladar was again sensational in the net and stopped all 42 shots and prevented the Penguins from playing for a shot at playoff history.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins tried to become just the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0. They won two straight games to force Game 6.

It's the Flyers who are moving on in coach Rick Tocchet's first season.

Arturs Silovs made 31 saves.

The last playoff game to head to overtime scoreless was Winnipeg and Edmonton in a 2021 first-round series. The Jets won 1-0 in the first OT.

The Flyers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, when they last reached the second round in the bubble season. They played their first series at home since 2018.

“So happy for the guys in that room,” York said. “We battled all year long for this position.”

Silovs, who allowed about four goals per game over his last 10 starts of the regular season, steadied the Penguins in place of the ineffective Stuart Skinner with wins in Games 4 and 5 and about played like a Vezina Trophy winner in Game 6.

Matvei Michkov, the Flyer's leading scorer after the Olympic break, was scratched in Game 5. He returned to the lineup determined to be a postseason difference-maker. He had a great chance on a breakaway but was stopped. The Flyers kept the puck in the offensive zone and Michkov swooped in and tried to poke the puck into the corner of the net, only for Silovs to again clamp down and deny the goal.

The Flyers, the last team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot, had 10 giveaways in the first period and made it six straight games in the series without a goal in the first period.

They can try to end that streak against a Hurricanes team that just swept the Ottawa Senators.

Kris Letang dropped Travis Konecny with a right hand as the second period ended and the long-time Penguin started the third in the penalty box. No matter. The Flyers came up empty with the man advantage — Michkov was wide on a one-timer — and they fell at that point to 2 for 17 on the power play in the series.

Vladar played like the team MVP he was in the regular season in willing the Flyers to the second round. Crosby early in the third flicked the puck from behind the net at Vladar. Perhaps auditioning for a spot on the World Cup teams playing in Philadelphia, Vladar headed it like a soccer star over the back of the net and the game remained scoreless.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Philadelphia Flyers' Sean Couturier (14) and Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) meet after the Flyers won Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Flyers' Cam York (8) celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal during overtime in Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Parker Wotherspoon, left, tries to keep the puck away from Philadelphia Flyers' Tyson Foerster during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Bryan Rust, right, attempts to get the puck past Philadelphia Flyers' Dan Vladar during the first period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Ryan Shea, left, is grabbed by Philadelphia Flyers' Luke Glendening during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Parker Wotherspoon (28) collides with Philadelphia Flyers' Tyson Foerster (71) during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Flyers' Travis Konecny, right, leaps past Pittsburgh Penguins' Samuel Girard during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)