The Philadelphia 76ers won their fourth straight game Wednesday night in Detroit as they took down the lowly Pistons by a score of 129-111. For the Sixers, Joel Embiid could not be stopped as he effortlessly dropped 41 points (14/24 FG, 12/12 FT, 1/3 3P), along with 11 rebounds. and five assists in about 31 minutes. Shots were falling for former Piston Tobias Harris, as he finished the night efficiently with 21 points (7/10 FG, 4/4 FT, 3/5 3P) in just 26 minutes.
Former No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham‘s steady defensive presence held down his fellow Texan, Tyrese Maxey, to nine points (2/13 FG, 5/6 FT, 0/6 3P) and nine assists in about 32 minutes. Cunningham countered Maxey with 21 points (5/17 FG, 10/12 FT, 1/8 3P), seven assists, and six rebounds in 30 minutes. Detroit was led in scoring by Bojan Bogdanovic with 33 points (11/19 FG, 6/8 FT, 5/9 3P) in 33 minutes.
Sixers set the tone early
The Sixers closed at -700 favorites–at the end of the first quarter, the live moneyline odds had already ballooned to -2500.
Embiid drew two fouls on opposing big man Isaiah Stewart within the first four minutes of the game en route to a 39-26 Philly advantage at quarter’s close. Embiid, unsurprisingly, started strongly, finishing the opening stanza with 19 points and eight rebounds. Detroit simply had no answers for Embiid’s dominance.
After a more competitive 31-30 second quarter, the Sixers welcomed halftime with a 70-56 lead. In 19 first-half minutes, Embiid recorded 30 points (10/15 FG, 9/9 FT, 1/2 3P) and 10 rebounds. The visiting Sixers outrebounded Detroit 31-15 in the first half.
Sixers sustain success
Philly outscored the Pistons 34-24 in the third quarter to take a 104-80 lead into the final frame. Embiid’s counterpart, Isaiah Stewart was ejected in the closing seconds of the third. Noticeably, Tobias Harris stepped up in the absence of Tyrese Maxey’s usual scoring output.
The end of the bench was able to get some valuable playing time in the fourth–inversely the starters got some important rest. While the Pistons managed to outscore the Sixers reserves 31-25 in the fourth quarter, 13 of the 15 Sixers who played tonight scored.
The Sixers improved to 16-7 on the season. Additionally, Embiid grows to 15-2 in his career versus Detroit, and the Sixers ascend to 11-1 with Kelly Oubre. Detroit drops to 2-22. The teams will face off again Friday night at 7 o’clock EST in Philly. The game can be watched on NBC Sports Philadelphia. For more Sixers coverage and other Philly sports content, visit PhillySportsNetwork.com!
