The Pistons opened the playoffs with a flop as the East’s top seed, losing to eighth-seeded Magic

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons opened the NBA playoffs with a flop.

Detroit entered the postseason as the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, talking openly about exceeding modest expectations and winning the franchise’s fourth championship.

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If the Pistons don’t play better than they did in a 112-101 loss to Orlando on Sunday night in Game 1, they could be eliminated in the first round again.

“We’re sick of losing this game,” Cade Cunningham said after scoring a career-high 39 points in the playoffs and not getting much help from his teammates. “It’s a long series.”

Detroit, which has lost an NBA-record 11 consecutive home postseason games, will host the Magic again on Wednesday night.

The Pistons haven’t won a home playoff game since 2008, which is also the last year they advanced to the playoffs.

They were slow early against the Magic and had a built-in excuse, playing for the first time in a week.

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“We didn’t come out with the right energy,” Cunningham said.

They were flat even at the start of the third quarter, and that’s harder to explain.

“We chased them all night,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We made some runs to get back into the game.”

The Magic, meanwhile, appeared poised to play just two nights after defeating Charlotte in an elimination game to earn a playoff spot.

“They were out and we found some rhythm,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That always plays a role in that.”

Detroit never led.

Cunningham hit a 3-pointer to tie the Pistons midway through the third quarter, but they blew the opportunity by giving up 14 of the next 17 points and couldn’t recover.

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Detroit finished with a season-low 31 baskets, connecting on just 40 percent of its shots. Tobias Harris scored 17 points as the only double-digit scorer besides Cunningham, but missed 10 of 15 shots.

All-Star Jalen Duren, who averaged nearly 20 points in the regular season, was limited to four shots and eight points.

“They packed the paint,” Bickerstaff said. “They’re going to put a lot of bodies in the paint to try to make his life difficult.”

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