Desmond Bane is no longer a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. But playing in front of former teammates Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, Jr., Bane was the star in a “grit-n-grind” style game, complete with bleeding arms.
Bane led the Orlando Magic with 22 points, including a banked-in three-pointer with 1:16 to play as his team defeated the Detroit Pistons, 92-86. The Magic are one game away from their first playoff series win since 2010, thanks to a blockbuster deal that brought in Bane over the summer.
Desmond Bane and the Orlando Magic locked down Detroit Pistons
While Bane’s late three-ball was his only made basket of the final quarter, that was more than enough against a Pistons team that didn’t make a field goal after the 5:50 mark until a meaningless Isaiah Stewart putback with 3.4 seconds to go. The Magic forced 20 turnovers in the game and blocked six shots in a rock fight of a game where Detroit shot only 38 percent, and the Magic were 33 percent from the field.
That’s why Bane was so critical. He went 5-for-10 from behind the arc, nearly matching the six threes made by Detroit’s entire team (shooting 20 percent). His own teammates were even worse. Besides Bane, the Magic were 4-for-25 on three-pointers, with Jalen Suggs bricking his way to a 1-for-11 night.
Perhaps it was Bane’s experience with the defensive-minded and often offensively-challenged Grizzlies that made him so ready for the moment. If he needed a reminder of that mindset, Morant sat courtside, celebrating every Bane three-pointer along with Jackson, who the Grizzlies traded to the Utah Jazz during the season.
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