The Detroit Pistons have been one of the hottest teams in basketball and picked up another win tonight in Philadelphia. Cade Cunningham lead the way for the Pistons, and they now have the best record in the entire Eastern Conference. This game was extremely close throughout, but Detroit was able to prevail in the second half.
Pistons Surge In Second Half
The Pistons played well in the first quarter outscoring the Sixers 37-32. In the second quarter, Philadelphia stormed back and quickly had a 10 point lead at halftime. One of the reasons why the 76ers have struggled this season is how poorly they play in the third quarter, and that trend continued tonight. Detroit outscored them by thirteen in the third quarter, and took advantage of the Sixers poor decision making on offense.
It was close once again in the fourth quarter, but the Pistons were able to hold on for the win. Cade Cunningham lead the team in scoring tonight with 26 points and was followed by Jaren Duren who had 21 points. Duren played a key role in their win tonight, putting together yet another double-double bringing in 16 rebounds.
Detroit is showing why they are one of the best teams in the NBA on a nightly basis, and will be back in action tomorrow against the Washington Wizards. They’ll be going for their seventh straight win, and their third against a conference rival.
76ers Fall Just Short Again…
Philadelphia played a good game tonight without Joel Embiid in the second game of a back-to-back after beating the Raptors, but once again couldn’t hold on in the second half. Tyrese Maxey once again led the team with 33 points, but struggled from the field tonight. He shot just 38.5% from the field, and 33.3% from three. It was still an impressive performance from Maxey putting together over 30 points when struggling to be efficient.
Outside of Maxey, the rest of the starters didn’t contribute much. VJ Edgecombe had another tough night, putting up just 11 points and shot 3-9 from the field. After getting off to a hot start Edgecombe has cooled down quickly, and has not scored more than 15 points in his last four games. Trendon Watford was also quiet tonight after having a triple-double last night against the Raptors.
They looked lackluster in the second half, which is something they’ve needed to clean up all season long. Nick Nurse needs to emphasize slowing the game down when they have possession, and not just chucking up shots for no reason.
