Detroit Pistons Drop 112-106 Battle To 76ers Despite Cade Cunningham Double-Double

In a battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons received a dose of payback at home when they fell to the Philadelphia 76ers by a 112-106 margin on Wednesday night after administering the reverse outcome earlier in the season in Philly. 

But unlike that recent meeting between the two squads, the Pistons found it much more difficult to contain Jaylen Brown in the second matchup as the former NBA Finals MVP went off for a 30-point, seven-rebound performance. Sixers big man Joel Embiid complemented that effort with a 26-point outing of his own, and the Pistons struggled to match that firepower after a slow offensive start in the first half. 

During the first quarter, Detroit sputtered out of the gate with just a 21-point opening frame in another contest without All-Star center Jalen Duren, but the Pistons’ offensive problems were deeper than that. Philadelphia played tight defense and disrupted a majority of Detroit’s offensive sets, so that contributed to their disjointed attack that produced just 42 points in the first half. 

During the second half, the Pistons were able to chip away at Philly’s lead and cut the advantage to single digits late in the fourth quarter, but Brown’s timely transition block on a Cade Cunningham three-point attempt with roughly a minute left in the contest effectively squashed any chances of a Detroit comeback. From that point, the 76ers continued to knock down their free throws and picked up a key six-point win over a Pistons group that’s proven to be among the tougher outs in the Eastern Conference. 

From a scoring standpoint, Duncan Robinson continued to rise to the occasion without Duren in the lineup. Robinson put up 27 points with a 7-for-11 shooting performance from beyond the arc that continued to provide fuel for Detroit’s comeback all throughout the game. Cunningham, who finished with 11 assists on the night, set up Robinson for a number of open looks that were dropping for the veteran sniper on Wednesday night. 

Overall, Cunningham ended the game with 26 points and 11 helpers, but he struggled mightily from three-point range with a 1-for-9 showing for the All-Star point guard. But as a defender, Cunningham was more than up to the task with two steals and a block in what was another strong two-way performance. 

With Duren’s absence approaching the two-week mark, Ausar Thompson continued to elevate his glass-cleaning impact against the Sixers with a whopping 11-point, 17-rebound night for the All-Defensive First-Teamer. As expected, Thompson was engaged in aggressive on-ball defense for much of the night, so his ability to grab 15 defensive rebounds helped keep the Pistons in the game until the very end. 

Now at 6-2 on the year, the Pistons have a day off before hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Nov. 6 at 6 pm.