Pistons rally from 24 down to beat Magic 93-79 and force Game 7 after Orlando goes ice-cold

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 32 points and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons pulled off an incredible rally Friday night, erasing a 24-point deficit and beating the Orlando Magic 93-79 to force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Detroit trailed by 22 at the half and Orlando's lead went to 62-38 early in the third quarter. The Magic looked absolutely poised to become the seventh No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the first round.

And then everything went wrong for Orlando. Everything.

“Detroit grit,” Cunningham said. “That's what we've been talking about all year.”

The Magic became the first team since 1996-97 — when play-by-play began getting tracked digitally — to lose at home after leading by at least 24 points with a chance to win a series.

That number, and a whole lot of others, were just baffling. The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots from the field, Detroit went on a 35-5 run and just like that, the story of the game — and quite possibly the series — changed wildly.

“We took each possession at a time, both offensively and defensively, and tried our best to execute on every single possession," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "Every screening action, every rebound, all the small things. We went out and focused on that. And we put ourselves in position to win.”

Tobias Harris scored 22 points for Detroit, which will host Game 7 on Sunday. Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane each scored 17 for Orlando, which is now 0-2 in closeout opportunities in this series and was again without injured forward Franz Wagner.

The first quarter was back and forth, Detroit leading 26-25 after those opening 12 minutes.

The second quarter: Magic 35, Pistons 12.

Orlando outscored the Pistons 17-0 from 3-point range and the free-throw line in that quarter, held Detroit to 2-for-11 shooting over the first 5:48 of the period and took a 60-38 lead into the half.

The 22-point halftime lead was the fourth-largest by a No. 8 seed over a No. 1 seed in this format. And there was never an instance of a No. 8 seed — at least in the play-by-play era, which started in 1996-97 — outscoring a No. 1 seed by 23 or more points in any quarter of a playoff game, either.

It seemed over. It was not. Because the third quarter: Pistons 24, Magic 11.

“When things get sideways, people splinter. And this group does the opposite," Pistons guard Duncan Robinson said. "It finds a way to just come together. There’s a lot of pride in that locker room, not wanting to go out like that.”

The tone was set for a comeback — an epic one — and when the night ended those who remained in Orlando's Kia Center booed as they departed for possibly the final time this season.

“We've got to go do it the hard way,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.

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Detroit Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins (24) goes up to shoot over Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze (35) during the first half in Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson, left, looks to pass the ball as Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0) defends during the first half in Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley directs his team against the Detroit Pistons during the first half in Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) drives against Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) during the first half in Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, left, tires to get past Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, right, during the first half in Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana has rejected a proposed health deal with the United States over concerns over data privacy and was now seeking a new agreement, an official said Friday, the latest African country to walk away from the deal over similar concerns.

The deal included provisions that would have allowed U.S. entities access to Ghana's sensitive health data without necessary safeguards, according to Arnold Kavaarpuo, executive director of Ghana’s Data Protection Commission.

The scope of the data access that was requested under the deal “went far beyond what would typically be required,” Kavaarpuo told The Associated Press.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the department does not disclose details of bilateral negotiations. “We continue to look for ways to strengthen the bilateral partnership between our two countries,” the spokesperson added, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

Under the Trump administration’s “America First” approach to global health funding, the U.S. has struck such health deals with more than 30 countries, most of them in Africa. The new approach that kicked off late last year replaces previous health agreements under the now-dismantled United States Agency for International Development.

The deals offer hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. funding to some of the African countries worst hit by the U.S. aid cuts to support their public health systems and help fight disease outbreaks.

The agreements, however, have raised questions about data privacy concerns. In February, authorities in Zimbabwe said they rejected the proposed deal over issues around health data, fairness and sovereignty. Zambia is also reported to have pushed back on a section of its deal, although no decision has been made there.

Activists in Africa say the agreements often lack adequate safeguards for the use of the data and are sometimes limiting in who is being helped — such as in Nigeria, where the U.S. committed to supporting mainly Christian faith-based healthcare providers.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director General Jean Kaseya had also cited “huge concerns” regarding data sharing in comments to reporters about the deals.

Under the proposed agreement worth around $300 million, Kavaarpuo said Ghana would have received about $109 million in U.S. funding over five years, with supplemental investments coming from the Ghanaian government.

Kavaarpuo, whose agency was directly involved in the talks, cited one caveat where individuals could be identified as deemed necessary for sensitive health data.

“That, in effect, was outsourcing the health data architecture of the country to a foreign body,” he said. “The proposed data sharing agreement looked at access not only to health data sets, but also to metadata, dashboards, reporting tools, data models and data dictionaries.”

The proposals would have also allowed up to 10 U.S. entities access to such data with no prior approval needed from Ghana for whatever the data is needed for, he said.

“We did not get a sense that Ghana had any real governance oversight when it came to how the data was going to be utilized. It was more or less if they undertook an exercise, they will notify the country. So it was not a prior approval arrangement,” he said.

Kavaarpuo added that Ghana has communicated its decision to reject the proposal to the U.S. and sought improved conditions for a better deal.

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - Ghana's President John Mahama speaks during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct. 14, 2025. (Ichiro Banno/Pool Photo via AP, FILE)