Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner believes they showed they belong in the NBA play-offs after taking a lead in their series against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.

The Magic, who finished eighth in the Eastern Conference and qualified through the play-in tournament, stunned the Pistons 112-101 in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Wagner contributed with 19 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the victory.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando in points (23) and rebounds (nine), while Wendell Carter Jr. also added 17 points and seven boards.

The Magic inflicted the third-largest defeat for a 60-win team in a play-off opener (11 points), behind only the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks (12) and 1997-98 Utah Jazz (13).

There were doubts around Orlando, who lost their first play-in game to the Philadelphia 76ers, but Wagner knows the true strength of their roster.

"I think everybody knows we got a really talented team," said Wagner.

Magic on three pic.twitter.com/l0EVjc4iFM

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 20, 2026

"Obviously, we didn't have the regular season that we wanted, but that's our goal. And I think we showed that we belong here."

The Pistons suffered their NBA record-extending 11th straight home play-off loss; they have not won a home play-off game since the 2008 East finals and have lost 19 of their last 21 overall postseason contests.

However, Detroit's Cade Cunningham led the game in scoring, with 39 points, as he played just his fourth game since recovering from a collapsed lung.

"I really felt great," said Cunningham, who hit 13 of 27 shots. "It's been a lot of time in between this and the injury for me now.

"I've had great preparation. Everybody's put a lot of time in with me.

"There was a stint towards the end [of the game] that I was a little tired. I came out for a minute or two, [the] coach got me a break, and then after that, I felt good to finish the game."