Philadelphia 76ers handle Detroit Pistons 120-102 as Joel Embiid shines

The Philadelphia 76ers took care of the Detroit Pistons 120-102, winning their sixth consecutive game and improving to 45-35 on the season as Philadelphia attempts to avoid the play-in tournament.

The 76ers are still a game behind the Indiana Pacers for 6th place in the Eastern Conference but remain at least 0.5 games in front of the Miami Heat for the 7th seed as the result of Miami’s game against the Toronto Raptors is yet to be determined at the time this article was written.

Philadelphia was deprived of Robert Covington (knee), Kyle Lowry (knee), late-scratch KJ Martin (toe), and Tyrese Maxey (hip).

Detroit was without Cade Cunningham (knee), Simone Fontecchio (toe), Quentin Grimes (knee), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring), Ausar Thompson (illness), and Stanley Umude (ankle).

76ers carried by Joel Embiid’s dominance

Joel Embiid starred with a near triple-double consisting of 37 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks, on 12-22 field shooting, 4-9 perimeter shooting, and 9-10 foul shooting. Embiid played the most amount of minutes and scored the highest sum of points since returning from his meniscus injury last week.

Embiid joins Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dallas’ Luka Doncic as the only players to record 15 or more 35/10 games this season according to StatMuse.

Joel Embiid is top 5 in

— 30-point games
— 40-point games
— 50-point games
— 30/10/5 games
— 30/15/5 games
— 25/15 games
— 30/15 games
— 40/15 games

He's only played 38 games. pic.twitter.com/iqZZYBjAsw

— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 10, 2024

Game by game, Joel Embiid continues to look more and more like himself for the full 48 minutes. Embiid aggressively went at Detroit’s front-court of Jalen Duren and James Wiseman in isolation and effortlessly scored in the mid-range and got to the rim with physicality, allowing him to draw contact.

Embiid’s playmaking was equally as impressive as he instinctively found back-cutters in Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. with Embiid hovering around the elbow in a facilitator role. Embiid repeatedly drew defenders in the post and used his gravity to create threes for the likes of Buddy Hield, Cam Payne, and De’Anthony Melton.

Other 76ers contributors

Buddy Hield had his best performance in what seemed to be weeks with 18 points and 6 rebounds on 6-12 field shooting and 5-9 three-point shooting. Coming into tonight, Hield was shooting 29.8% from beyond the arc in his last 10 games, so to see Hield catch fire tonight was a welcomed sign.

Hield looks much more comfortable and confident tonight as the marksman was utilized in ways that maximized his abilities as an offensive player. Hield flew off pin-down screens buried spot-up corner threes and simply drilled triples off the catch. 

Entering tonight’s game, Kelly Oubre Jr. averaged 23.6 points per game and 3.0 assists per game on a 64.7 true-shooting percentage over his last five games and Oubre carried that momentum into tonight, contributing 17 points and 3 blocks on 6-16 shooting from the field.

Though it wasn’t an efficient performance like we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Oubre as of late, Oubre provided a much-needed offensive spark in the 3rd quarter where the 76ers’ lead was cut down to as little as one point. Oubre’s ability to attack the rim helped rebuild a cushion from the Pistons not to mention, his stellar point-of-attack defense on rookie Marcus Sasser, who shot just 3-10 from the field.

Kelly Oubre Jr. throws it down with authority 💪pic.twitter.com/fZ2EYlg5LU

— Sixers Nation (@SixersNationCP) April 9, 2024

After missing three games due to a left knee contusion, Tobias Harris made his return to the lineup and put up a double-double of 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists on 6-13 shooting from the field.

Harris did his damage in the paint where he overwhelmed Chimezie Metu with his strength forcefully finishing at the rim and took advantage of mismatches by ducking into the restricted area and posting up.

It’s also worth noting that De’Anthony Melton made his return from lumbar spine bone stress that has kept him sidelined since February 27th. In his comeback on limited minutes, Melton contributed 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals on 2-9 shooting in 15 minutes.

It was far from Melton’s best game, but considering he’s now played just six games in the year 2024, Melton simply being on the court is a positive takeaway from tonight.

The 76ers will face the Orlando Magic on Friday at 7:00 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Mandatory Credit: (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)