What is the story about?
Enough evidence has mounted and it is damning — the Sixers are not Cup risers.
Philadelphia fell to the Detroit Pistons 114-105 in their second game of NBA Cup action Friday night. The Sixers are now 0-2 in group play.
Tyrese Maxey once again led all scorers, going for 31 points on 13-of-31 shooting along with six rebounds, three assists and four steals.
VJ Edgecombe, active despite popping up on the injury report, had a bounce-back game, finishing with 18 on 6-of-15 while going 4-of-8 from behind the arc.
Andre Drummond had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Justin Edwards had 13 off the bench. Javonte Green led Detroit with 21.
Joel Embiid missed his second straight game with knee soreness. He joined Paul George (knee injury recovery) and Jared McCain (G-League assignment) on the inactive list. Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duran, Ausar Thompson and Tobias Harris headlined a laundry list of Pistons unable to suit up due to injury.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- It was a fairly disjointed start for the Sixers, giving Detroit a couple easy turnovers early by staring down their target of passes. Bball Paul was out for revenge early, getting the first basket of the game and throwing down an emphatic dunk a few possessions later.
- Offensively, the Sixers weren’t able to get much going in the half court save for what Maxey could get them as they were getting a lot of pull-up jumpers in isolation. Trendon Watford pushed the ball up the floor for a couple transition opportunities, but no one got in a rhythm early. Another small positive was Edgecombe getting his first eight points without a miss. He made his first two free throws and swished down a three after needing friendly bounces his last time out against Boston. A few possessions later he pulled up off the dribble with a crossover to knock down another three.
- It was probably more due to how many guys were out for the Pistons, but the Sixers actually defended pretty well in the quarter. Detroit shot 40% from the floor, but that was better than the Sixers’ 38.7%, good enough to give them a one-point lead after one.
Second Quarter
- The Sixers’ offense did start rolling a bit thanks a three-point barrage. Edgecombe’s hot hand carried over, Edwards came in the game and immediately knocked one down, as did Dominick Barlow. After missing the last nine games, Barlow didn’t seem to miss much of a beat — he pulled down six rebounds in his six minutes of play. He also picked up a hard-earned chase down block on Ron Holland II in transition.
- Still taking a lot of pull-ups out of isolation, the Sixers offense cooled down again after said barrage. The Pistons on the other hand found their three-point shooting stroke, led by Javonte Green who punished the Sixers for slipping under screens.
- That early game sloppiness was not something the Sixers able to shake off as the half went on. They continued to throw passes that were easy to pick off, and they got beat by a lot of back door cutters, helping the Pistons get out to a nine-point lead at the half.
Third Quarter
- Nick Nurse switched up the lineup a bit, switching Quentin Grimes for Watford and Barlow in place of Kelly Oubre Jr., who looked like he tweaked his knee in the first half, and that group put together a 14-0 run to start the half. What kept that run going was the Sixers’ ability to get their hands on the ball — both Maxey and Edgecombe deflected passes during this stretch that helped create fast break opportunities. Andre Drummond poked away a steal as well, but took away his own bucket by double-dribbling.
- The injury Oubre suffered would end up ending his night. The team ruled him out in the second half with a left knee hyperextension. It looks like it happened on this play.
- Drummond was able to make up for that sequence by burying not one but two corner threes, passing his career-high for three-pointers made in a season in early November. That was helped by the Sixers offense actually getting into the paint, which made a lot more shooters open and the Sixers converted early in the quarter.
- For as good of a third as they had, the Sixers’ woes in this quarter still were able to surface. Even after Maxey hit a tough turnaround fadeaway to stop the bleeding, Daniss Jenkins, who was going back and forth with Maxey for much of the night, drilled a heave at the buzzer to cut the lead to two at quarter’s end.
Fourth Quarter
- The unit without Maxey really struggled to open the quarter offensively. All they were able to muster was a layup from Barlow. Edgecombe probably should have been running this unit more as it was an off night for Grimes.
- If there was any more proof needed that things needed to run through Edgecombe, he buried a three to get the Sixers back on the board when the Pistons were threatening to pull away. Edwards followed that up with an impressive drive to the hoop. The rest of their backcourt did most of the leg work, but Caris LeVert started to find his shot as well during this time, preventing the Sixers from getting any closer.
- Needing plenty of stops and baskets down the stretch, the Sixers hopes were in Maxey pulling the rabbit out of the hat again but that was too big of an ask. They had a couple much needed threes rim out, and could not keep the Pistons away from the rim on the other end enough for it to matter.
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