It could have been easier, but the Sixers have defeated the Detroit Pistons for the first time since November of 2024, knocking them off 112-106 Wednesday night.
Jaylen Brown set a new season-high 30 points shooting 11-of-19 from the floor, and his biggest play was blocking Cade Cunningham’s three-point attempt with 38 seconds remaining. LeBron James came close to his first triple-double as a Sixer, putting up 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists on 5-of-10 shooting.
Tyrese Maxey had his worst shooting performance of the season, put up 17 of his 19 in the second half going 5-of-16 from the floor along with seven assists. Not playing on a minutes restriction this time, Joel Embiid shot 8-of-18 for 26 points and 14 rebounds.
Cunningham led the Pistons with 26, who were once again without Jalen Durn who remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, as well as Isaiah Joe who injured his hip when these two teams last met on Oct. 25.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- It was tough sledding early for Embiid and Maxey, each missing their first three field goals of the night despite some good looks. Embiid missed his 12th straight three-pointer dating back four games now, but he was able to help the offense flow in spite of that. He found a cutting Brown for the first points of the game and got his first field goal on a backdoor cut on his own.
- Paul Reed had quite a start against his old club. He stayed in front of Maxey on a drive and blocked his layup attempt, and made his first two shots of the night attempting some fancy footwork. Getting one slam called back for a travel didn’t sway his confidence in trying to spin around Embiid.
- LeBron settled in as he began to run the offense more after the Sixers’ first subs. After finding Embiid on that cut, he got aggressive with their pick-and-roll, getting each of them to the free throw line during this stretch. A steal caused by Dean Wade ending in a Dean Wade layup capped off a 10-0 Sixers run.
- Brown and Maxey finished the quarter strong as the Sixers flipped the stagger with a couple minutes to go. Maxey’s scoop layup were only his first points of the night, but Brown was good in all nine of his minutes. He got the basket off the dribble for an and-1 then became the latest Sixer to hit an end-of-quarter heave, putting the Sixers up eight after one.
Second Quarter
- They went right back to Brown on their first possession of the quarter and he got right to his spot in the midrange for another jumper. LeBron got an assist for that, but his impressive dimes came on his consecutive assists to Adem Bona. He waited just long enough for Reed to slide over for a quick bounce bass on the first, and the second was a left-handed laser from half court to reward Bona for getting down the floor ahead of the defense.
- Cunningham started this game 2-of-8 from the floor. He also got hit in the midsection in the first quarter. Detroit’s offense struggled as their head of the snake did and the Sixers were able to take advantage. James got to the basket a couple more times, becoming the first player in history to reach 16,000 career field goals in the process. Brown drilled two more threes to cap off his heater. After intercepting a pass he had a wide open layup to himself but smoked it after an uneasy takeoff. Brown said the other day he’s waiting for a bit more burst to come back so hopefully this is just a blip on the radar.
- A couple of turnovers to follow up that layup helped the game slowly swing the Pistons’ way for the first time. After a cutting layup, Duncan Robinson drilled his third and Detroit’s fourth three of the night. Maxey checked back into the game to get the offense back up and running but was subbed right back out after picking up his third foul of the night in just 10 seconds.
- Embiid put back a missed layup and drew a foul in the process to end a 9-0 Sixers run, but picked up a technical foul after really getting into with reserve center Tolu Smith. It just seemed like an odd escalation from typical dead ball shooting from both parties.
- That foul occurred when Brown was due for two at the line, drilling both to help offset the technical. After forcing a turnover Embiid got himself to the line getting Smith to bite on a rip through. Brown got to the line one more time and split a pair to give the Sixers a 14-point lead at halftime.
Third Quarter
- The Sixers gave Cunningham too much space as he dribbled around a screen, helping him step into an open three to start the half. He also read an Embiid outlet very well for a pick-six moments later. Edgecombe had answered with a pull-up jumper and a cutting dunk, but as Cunningham started to draw doubles, the Sixers left John Collins wide open for lobs, prompting a timeout from Nick Nurse.
- Nurse went back to his hot hand coming out of the timeout and Brown drilled a contested turnaround midrange jumper. LeBron drilled a three off the catch, as did Maxey for just his second field goal of the night on the following possession. Cunningham responded by getting to the line, then taking advantage of a collapsed defense to find Robinson for another three.
- As he has all year, Edgecombe was doing a great job filling the lanes and was rewarded with plenty of open dunks for doing so. He also swooped in to grab a missed Embiid layup for a big putback basket. A couple possessions later he grabbed a big rebound on the defensive end and took the ball to the hoop to help the Sixers withstand Robinson’s heater.
- Maxey checked back in and hit a sidestep three, a much welcomed sight after his first half. Despite the Pistons getting a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession the Sixers got up the floor quickly and found Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the corner for a three. Brown split another pair at the line and hit another midrange J to set a new season-high for this young season. Despite some good ball pressure that led to a turnover, Edgecombe wasn’t able to finish a fastbreak layup, keeping the Sixers at a 16-point lead.
Fourth Quarter
- Once again the Sixers started their quarter going to Brown and once again he was able to rise up and knock one down inside the arc. With Embiid having played 24 minutes and Jabari Walker at the scorer’s table it wasn’t clear if Embiid’s night was over, and Detroit was picking up momentum going to the basket. After four possessions ended in three layups, Nurse called a timeout and put Embiid back in the game. Bona didn’t just sub out but went to the locker room after taking a hit to the head during his shift.
- Kevin Huerter drilled a three coming out of that timeout continuing the pursuit, but Embiid was able to knockdown a jumper to settle things down. Maxey drove his way to the line and LeBron was able to find KCP near the hoop for a basket. They surrendered a fast break that led to another Pistons three, but Reed picking up his fifth foul of the night for a thin Detroit backcourt and Maxey being left alone for another three on the left wing put the Sixers in a good spot with four and a half to go.
- After missing a three badly at the end of the shotclock, Maxey appeared to make up for it running out after a miss, but he smoked the fast break layup as well. Brown fouled Robinson attempting a three on the following possession for a big swing.
- Robinson made two of the three after a timeout. The Sixers went to the Maxey/Embiid two-man game and a pocket pass set the big fella up for a much needed midrange jumper, but they couldn’t keep Robinson down for too long as he buried another three coming off a screen. LeBron had Edgecombe set up for a rolling layup down the lane but Edgecombe fumbled the pass, giving up another easy open basket at the rim for Philadelphia.
- Capping off a messy night of officiating, Cunningham got a pair at the line on a play he either should have had an and-1 or the foul be on the floor. Regardless, he cut the lead to six. LeBron followed it with a poor jumper behind the block that didn’t go and Cunningham got right back to the basket to cut it to a four-point game.
- The Sixers dribbled out their next possession and the ball swung to Embiid behind the perimeter with the shotclock winding down, but he was unable to bust out of his long range slump. It was fitting that Brown made the biggest play of the night, blocking Cunningham’s pull-up three-point attempt on the next trip down the floor. It set the Sixers up to win the game from the free throw line and summed up in one play why the Sixers beat the Pistons for the first time in their last eight tries.
- The Sixers were able to win the game at the line, but they might have picked up a considerable bump or bruise to worry about. As he was trying to avoid turning the ball over, Maxey came up favoring his right hand as Detroit was fouling him. He’s dealt with finger injuries on that hand in each of the last two seasons. Maxey was at least able to hit four straight free throws to help the Sixers pull out the win.
