Sixers collapse in second half, fall to shorthanded Pistons in NBA Cup play
The Sixers just handed a gift-wrapped win to the hottest team in basketball. Detroit came into Friday on an eight-game heater, missing half their roster, and still walked out with a 114-105 win over a Philly team that cannot stop tripping over its own feet.
The Pistons rolled to their ninth straight win, improved to 11-2, and jumped to 2-0 in NBA Cup East Group B. The Sixers fell to 7-5 overall and 0-2 in Cup play.
So yeah, the NBA Cup dream is already cooked.
Tyrese Maxey dropped 31 points, seven rebounds, and four steals, but this game was a perfect example of how stats can lie. The Sixers’ offense stalled, the execution melted, and turnovers plus bad decisions swung the entire second half back to Detroit.
With Joel Embiid (right knee soreness), Paul George (knee recovery), and Jared McCain (G League stint) all out, the margin for error was basically zero.
Detroit, by the way, was missing Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris, and half their rotation. Didn’t matter.
VJ Edgecombe looked good again
VJ Edgecombe has been grinding through a brutal, heavy-minute stretch of the schedule. He finally got a breather this week, and the difference was immediate. The rookie came out firing, drilling threes on his first two attempts and finishing the half with 13 points. It was his first game in November with at least three made triples.
He needed that bounce-back. Badly.
Dominick Barlow Returns
Dominick Barlow missed nine straight games, strapped a sleeve on his elbow, walked onto the court, and looked like he hadn’t missed a single possession. He hit a corner three, grabbed every rebound in sight, and chased down Ron Holland for a block that was originally called a foul before Nick Nurse challenged and won.
Barlow played 29 minutes, posted 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, and looked like the exact type of role player this roster is missing when things get tight.
Sixers Start the Second Half Hot… Then Immediately Melt Down
Nick Nurse has been trying to exorcise the third-quarter demons all season, and he finally pulled the trigger on a starting lineup change: Barlow for Watford, Grimes for Oubre.
It looked like a genius move. The Sixers opened the third on a 14-0 run, didn’t allow Detroit to score until the 7:38 mark, and totally flipped the game. Drummond hit two threes. Edwards hit another. The lead swelled to 83-71.
Then came the collapse.
Jenkins banked in a half-court shot to end the third. Detroit tied it immediately to open the fourth. The Pistons kept punching while the Sixers kept stumbling. And Detroit hit every big shot late, including a contested Caris LeVert dagger with the shot clock dying.
Maxey: Numbers Good, Process Bad
Maxey’s final line looks fine. The film? Not so much.
He forced too many tough midrange looks, killed possession after possession with early-clock heat checks, and botched two different two-for-one opportunities that turned into Pistons points. He eventually hit big shots late, but he never got the team into a rhythm.
The step back triple is still performance art
Oubre Goes Down
Kelly Oubre left with a left knee hyperextension and didn’t return. Before the injury, he looked completely off physically and shot 1-for-7, including almost airballing a free throw. Depending on the severity, this could be a big problem for a roster already short on wings.
Sixers-Pistons Game Notes
- Edwards sneaking upward as a reliable shooter. The fouls, though… buddy, please.
- Paul Reed and Andre Drummond were talking trash all night.
- The Pistons were down six players and still punked the Sixers. No way around that.
- Philly will return home Monday to face the Clippers, where hopefully someone will remember how to hold a lead.
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