Pistons vs. Magic, final score: Stan Van Gundy loses in return to Orlando, 99-87

After such a dominating win against Charlotte on Wednesday, giving hope that the Big 3 could work, the same starting lineup (sub Singler for Martin) struggled mightily against the Magic and lost big 99-87.

The Pistons came out of the game looking out of sync and very sluggish. The Magic won the first quarter 32-21, the most points the Pistons have allowed in a quarter this preseason. It is also the biggest point differential the Pistons have been on the negative side of this preseason. Tobias Harris, Kyle O'Quinn, and Nikola Vucevic all had big quarters with 11, 8 and 6 points, respectively.

However, things slowly started to change in the second quarter. D.J. Augustin took over in the second quarter and the Pistons got back six points, winning the quarter 28-22. The Pistons went into half time trailing by five, 54-49.

The Pistons started the third quarter the same way they did the first, but they were able to win the quarter and were within two points going into the fourth, 76-74.

In the fourth quarter, the Pistons continued to stay within two possessions for a while, then the Magic started to pull away with about eight minutes left in the game. The Pistons scored their fewest points in a quarter this preseason in the fourth, 13, losing the quarter 23-13.

This game was tough to watch. The Pistons only shot 38 percent for the game, and a horrid 27 percent from deep. For once though, the Pistons were actually a plus at the free-throw line, shooting 21-28 (the Magic were 6-6). The Pistons were out-rebounded by four and out-assisted by six, but then again, it's hard to rack up assists shooting as bad as they did.

Greg Monroe was Moosey, going 10-15 for 24 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. D.J. Augustin continues to make his case for starting PG by going 6-13 (3-5 from deep) for 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and only one turnover. Andre Drummond seemed out of sorts both offensively and defensively. He finished with 11 points on 5-11 shooting with 7 rebounds and 5 blocks. He also had almost half of the Pistons total fouls (five of the 11).

The Jith were themselves. Jennings played 28 minutes going 1-6 (1-5 from deep) for 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 turnovers. Smith went 1-7 (0-1 from deep) for 3 points to go along with 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound and 1 block in 25 minutes. Jerebko also had his worst game of the preseason going 1-7 for 2 points along with 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.

The Pistons are right back at it tomorrow night against the Hawks.

-- Box Score

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