Franz Wagner’s magic rule for Friday’s Game 6 vs. the Pistons

Orlando, Fla. — The Orlando Magic Ruled forward Franz Wagner Friday’s game is 6 outs against Detroit Pistons.

Wagner will miss his second straight game with a right calf strain, and it looks increasingly unlikely that he’ll be able to return to the lineup with a cautious approach to this series. Wagner wore a walking boot in Detroit on Wednesday.

The Magic lost 116-109 without Wagner in Game 5. However, they lead the top-seeded Pistons 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and need just one more win to advance to the second round. A possible Game 7 would be Sunday in Detroit.

Wagner suffered the injury during the third quarter of Game 4 on Monday in Orlando. He did not play in the fourth quarter of the 94-88 win over the Pistons.

of Orlando Paolo Banchero said that without Wagner in Game 5, he knew he had to step up, and the power forward scored 45 points, making 17 of 31 shots, including six 3-pointers.

But Detroit stars Cade Cunningham also took advantage of Wagner’s absence, going 13 of 23 for a franchise-playoff-record 45 points.

In the first four games of the series with Wagner as the primary defender over him, Cunningham totaled 17 points, shot 6-for-24 (including 3-for-16 from behind the arc) and had six turnovers, according to ESPN’s tracking.

Wagner averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals in the series.