Charlie Harrison IV
The Detroit Pistons (20-46) couldn’t pull off the victory tonight, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers (39-26) on the road 124-106. The Pistons were in a groove early on in the first quarter, going on a 15-9 run to start the game before trailing by five to end the first quarter. The Pistons came back to life briefly in the second quarter by going on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to single digits (48-42) after trailing by as many as 11 points, but the 76ers opened the flood gates later on in the second quarter to take a 70-55 halftime lead. The 76ers were able to control the game from the third quarter on, and outside of a few mini-runs from the Pistons, this game was never really close for the good guys.
The Pistons have been depleted by injuries this season and have now lost five straight games and 10 of their last 11 games, so it’s no surprise the most recent odds had the Pistons as underdogs by 11 points against the 76ers tonight. Blake Griffin (knee), Luke Kennard (knee), Bruce Brown Jr. (ankle) and Derrick Rose (ankle) were all out tonight due to injuries.
All-Star PG Ben Simmons (back) did not suit up tonight for the 76ers. Simmons has not played since February 22nd against the Milwaukee Bucks and will be evaluated in three weeks.
Christian Wood led the charge for the Pistons tonight with a new career-high in points (again). Wood finished the game with 32 points and seven rebounds. Wood continues to shine for the Pistons, showing that Detroit grit by not allowing players from the opposing team to bully him in the midst of his breakout season. Coming into tonight’s game, Wood was averaging 27 points and 9.3 rebounds, including a previous career-high 30 points against Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz. Svi Mykhailiuk finished tonight’s game with 16 points and four assists.
For the 76ers, All-Star Joel Embid led the way with 30 points and 14 rebounds. Teammate Al Horford finished with a double-double as well, scoring 20 points while pulling down 10 rebounds and adding six assists.
The Detroit Pistons are off the next two nights but will return to action this Saturday on the road against the Toronto Raptors at 7:30 PM.
