There is home-court advantage, and then there is the Angel Reese treatment.
In a winner-take-all Game 7 that felt like a messy episode of "Love & Basketball", Detroit Pistons fans turned Little Caesars Arena into a house of psychological warfare.
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The target was Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr.
The weapon was his own girlfriend.
As the Magic big man stepped to the stripe during Detroit’s 116-94 blowout win, a deafening chant of "AN-GEL RE-ESE" rained from the rafters.
The backstory is all soap opera.
Before dating Carter Jr., Reese was linked to Pistons star Jalen Duren.
The blood boiled over during this series when Angel Reese posted Instagram highlights of Carter Jr. dunking on Duren, captioned: "PLAY THE SONGGGGG."
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Pistons fans did not forget. And the tactic worked.
While Duren played like a man possessed with a 15-point and 15-rebound double-double, Carter Jr. looked rattled.
Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream reacts to a foul against the Washington Mystics in the second quarter of a preseason game at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga., on May 3, 2026. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons talks to the media after the game against the Orlando Magic during Round One Game Seven of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 3, 2026, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich. (Chris Schwegler/NBAE/Getty Images)
The Motor City faithful reminded him at every dead ball exactly who was watching.
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After weeks of Reese’s social media "shades," Duren got the last laugh by sending Carter Jr. home for the summer.
Reese has yet to respond to the chants. In Detroit, the message was clear: In the playoffs, dating history is fair game.
Detroit moves on. And Carter Jr. has a long flight back to Orlando with plenty to explain.
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COLLEGE PARK, GEORGIA - MAY 03: Angel Reese #5 of the Atlanta Dream is introduced before the preseason game against the Washington Mystics at Gateway Center Arena on May 03, 2026 in College Park, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images) ((Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images))
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Alejandro Avila is a longtime writer at OutKick, living in Southern California.
