Detroit Pistons With 3-0 Start After 106-93 Win Over Philadelphia 76ers

In what started as a battle of two unbeaten squads, the Detroit Pistons sent a proverbial statement to the rest of the NBA with their 106-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on the road on Sunday night. 

Though both teams were shorthanded with multiple starters out of the lineup, the Pistons took advantage of a Philly team that was also playing with short rest on the second leg of a back-to-back. That advantage primarily came in the low post with Detroit claiming a 54-37 edge in the rebounding department, much of which could be attributed to Joel Embiid’s absence.

But to be fair, the Pistons were playing without All-Star center Jalen Duren as well, so both groups had to dig deeper in their bench for frontcourt depth. On Philly’s side of the court, the Sixers went with Adem Bona at the five for much of the game, though LeBron James moonlighted as a small-ball five for long passages of play as well. 

Detroit followed a similar approach without their All-NBA Third Team big man in the lineup. Naturally, Paul Reed earned the start since JD was inactive, and the former Sixer offered an eight-point, eight-rebound effort against his old squad. But when Reed checked out of the game, John Collins slid to the five for longer periods of time than he had prior to this matchup. And during those minutes with Collins at center, the Pistons acquitted themselves much better on the glass, which was a key weakness to this concept in previous outings. 

As for Collins, the longtime vet chipped in with a key double-double performance on a night where Detroit could use the help with Ausar Thompson out of the lineup as well. Collins finished the double-digit win with 16 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks for another strong performance with time split across multiple positions. 

Collins was also responsible for hitting a pair of three-pointers, which was another key element to Detroit’s win over Philly and a big piece of their early-season success overall. The Pistons shot 41% from downtown last night, which is a lower rate than their first two victories of the 2026-27 campaign but still more than 4% better than their typical performance a year ago. In fact, Duncan Robinson connected on five triples for his third consecutive game, and the backcourt pairing of Cade Cunningham and Daniss Jenkins both knocked down a trio of long-range shots as well. 

In terms of Cunningham’s production, the Pistons floor general delivered another wide-ranging effort that showed just how impactful he is on a nightly basis with 26 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks. More responsibility was pushed upon Cunningham’s plate without Duren or Thompson in the lineup, and Detroit’s star point guard lived up to his billing as the fulcrum for the Pistons’ winning machination in the Motor City. 

On the downside, the Pistons did lose Isaiah Joe for most of the contest after the sharp-shooter took the aerial route by slamming home a thunderous dunk in transition that ended with the first-year Detroit player landing squarely on his tailbone. Joe left the game with a hip contusion in the first half and did not return. 

With three wins under their belt against three quality Eastern Conference teams, the Pistons will turn their attention to an upcoming battle with the defending NBA Champion New York Knicks on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 8 pm on the road.