The Sixers came into Sunday night’s back-to-back contest against the Detroit Pistons looking to continue the momentum from their win last night. They introduced the classic edition jerseys and court last night against the Raptors and wore them again in this game versus the Pistons, trying to keep the vibes they had from the Allen Iverson era jerseys.
The Pistons have been one of the better teams in the NBA to start the season, building on their successful season where they made the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Coming into the game, Detroit had won seven of its first nine games, including five straight games.
For the second consecutive night, the Sixers started sloppily, allowing the Pistons to build an early lead. Turnovers and second chances allowed Detroit to run and make the home team pay. With Ausar Thompson, one of the best defenders in the league, guarding Tyrese Maxey 94 feet to start the game, the Sixers looked to find ways to free him up offensively.
There was a balanced attack from the Pistons early on as Jalen Duran, Ausar Thompson, and Duncan Robinson all contributed early to help them score 37 first-quarter points. Much of the Pistons’ early offensive success came despite star Cade Cunningham's slow start to scoring.
With the start of the second quarter, the substitutions for Nick Nurse became a story with Eric Gordon playing over guard Jared McCain. With him being available last night and not playing, many assumed he would get minutes tonight, but early on, he stayed on the bench. With about eight minutes left in the quarter, McCain checked in to a rousing applause from the home crowd.
The star of the first half for the home team was two-way forward Jabari Walker, who got his first extended run in a few games. He hustled on the boards, played solid defense, and hit his open shots. He scored 12 first-half points and was a key reason for the Sixers' offensive turnaround after being down early in the game. His effort and the efforts of Maxey and Grimes helped Philly outscore the Pistons by 15 in the second quarter to take a ten-point lead into halftime.
The third-quarter woes continued for a team that has struggled coming out of halftime in almost every game to start the season. They started the quarter with a ten-point lead, which Detroit cut to two early. The Sixers went on a run of their own to push it back over double digits, but Cade Cunningham would be heard from in the third. He controlled the pace, got everywhere he wanted, and helped the Pistons roar back to take a two-point lead. He scored 17 points in the quarter, helping Detroit outscore the home team by 13.
The fourth quarter turned out to be a dogfight with the Sixers mostly fighting from behind in the quarter. It came down to the final four minutes of the game with a duel between Tyrese Maxey and Cade Cunningham. Cunningham had 26 points and 11 points and had a ferocious dunk on Andre Drummond late to make a statement. Maxey did his part to try to will his team to a win, scoring 33 points and dishing out seven assists. He had his own dunk to energize the crowd, but it was a little too late.
The Sixers had a chance to tie it at the end of regulation, and after a game of hot potato, the ball ended up in Maxey’s hand to shoot a three at the buzzer, and it rimmed off. A tough loss to the Pistons sends the Sixers to 6-4, while the Pistons go to 8-2. This team will meet again next Friday during the NBA cup in Detroit.
The Sixers will face off against the Boston Celtics for the third time in three weeks on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.
