Pistons thump Magic, 109-86, behind big night from Jodie Meeks

Playing in their fourth game in five nights, the Orlando Magic returned home after a brief 2-0 road trip to Charlotte and Miami to take on the Stan Van Gundy led Detroit Pistons. The Pistons got red hot from beyond the arc, cruising to a 109-86 victory.

Much like last night in Miami, the Magic got going fast, grabbing a five point lead right off of the bat. Also like their game in Miami on Monday, the Magic struggled with turnovers, coughing it up five times, leading to seven Pistons points. Victor Oladipo continued to handle the ball much of the time when the team was in their halfcourt offense, but, Elfrid Payton did show a more aggressive nature looking to score when he did have the ball. Detroit grabbed six offensive rebounds, leading to eight points, with all six boards coming from Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Oladipo led the way for the Magic with seven, with Monroe leading Detroit with six.

After a close first quarter, the Pistons began to pull away some from the Magic, thanks to red hot three-point shooting. Detroit, behind six makes from Jodie Meeks, knocked down 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, en route to a 34 point quarter. The Magic, who came in with the fourth highest team three-point shooting percentage, struggled from deep, making just one of their 10 attempts from beyond the arc. Overall, the Magic out shot the Pistons -- 53.7 percent to 46.7 percent from the field -- but the three-point discrepancy was too much for the Magic to overcome in the first 24 minutes. Meeks led all scorers with 20, all of which came in the second quarter, with Oladipo leading the Magic with 13 at halftime.

Out of halftime, the Magic looked like the life had been sucked right out of them. The team had little to no energy, and the Pistons were able to take advantage of it, pushing the lead to as many as 18 before the Magic began to whittle away at it. The Magic found a little bit of energy as the quarter went on, cutting the Pistons lead down to 10 going into the fourth, thanks to some strong late quarter play from Tobias Harris. Detroit held a huge rebounding advantage, out rebounding the Magic 44-31 through three, as well as a 10-to-3 advantage in three-pointers made. Meeks' 20 continued to lead the way for the Pistons, while Oladipo's 16 led the way for the Magic.

With 12 minutes left, and an outside shot at finishing the comeback, the Magic and to find something on both ends of the floor. However, they were unable to do so, with the Pistons pushing the lead back up to over 20 in almost no time. The Pistons shooting and balance on both ends of the floor, coupled with the Magic's tired legs proved to be just too much on Tuesday night.

Meeks' monster night led the way for the Pistons. Meeks finished with a season high 34, including nine three-pointers off the bench. Drummond had a big game himself, finishing with 17 points and 22 rebounds. D.J. Augustin rounded out Pistons in double figures, finishing with 11.

The Magic were led by Oladipo, who finished with 16 on the night. Harris followed closely, finishing with 15. Nikola Vucevic rounded out Magic men in double figures, finishing with 10 on the night.