Sixers Blown Out by Pistons in Miserable Offensive Performance

After a huge win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last night for the 76ers, their last back-to-back of the season was on one of the worst offensive performances of the year, which is very concerning as they fight for a guaranteed playoff spot.

Without Joel Embiid, they struggled mightily, getting blown out by the Detroit Pistons 116-93 at home to end their season series against them. The victory for Detroit gives them the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, so if the Sixers were to fall into the eight seed via the Play-In Tournament, they would know their opponent. 

Outside of Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe, the Sixers got minimal offensive production from anyone else. George finished with 20, Maxey 23, and Edgecombe 19. The Pistons, meanwhile, had six players hit double figures.

Both teams went back and forth to start the game, but Detroit gave itself a manageable lead by the time the quarter was over. George, who played his first back-to-back of the season, scored nine points in a quick seven minutes. Maxey scored 14 out of the 31 points in the quarter with two fouls, but once the Sixers took out most of their starters towards the end, the Pistons capitalized. 

They went on a 12-4 run with around three minutes to go, giving them a ten-point lead by the time it was over. Detroit scored 22 of its 41 first-quarter points in the paint, as it struggled from three, shooting just 2-for-6 from beyond the arc. They were powered off them, making 14-for-24 field goals, and 11 free throws, which helps out as well. Besides the points from Maxey and George, nothing else happened.

The Sixers started the second quarter on a roll, going on a 14-6 run, making it a one-possession game before the Pistons called a timeout. And it was George, once again the captain of the offense, who added another nine points in seven minutes. The Pistons extended their lead after the timeout until the Sixers tied the game on a layup from Cam Payne and a three from Edgecombe, who had 11 points in the quarter.

Then came a 15-4 Pistons run to close out the quarter and give them another sustainable lead, and somehow, outscoring the Sixers in the quarter off that run. After Kelly Oubre Jr. tied the game at 56 with just under four minutes to go, Detroit got two threes from Duncan Robinson and Daniss Jenkins, as well as buckets from both Tobias Harris and Paul Reed, to send them into halftime up by 11. It seems like without George out on the quarter, the Sixers lose their mojo, and that allows the Pistons to go on these late-quarter runs. 

Payne suffered a hamstring injury late in the second and was ruled out for the remainder of the game shortly after.

The Sixers didn’t fully implode like they usually do in most third quarters, but they still never put themselves back into it. In what felt like one of the most boring quarters to watch all year, the Sixers were only outscored by three points. Detroit extended its lead to 21 at one point, with them dominating the glass and the possession battle. 

Outside of Maxey, George, and Edgecombe, there was little to no offensive production at all in the third. Those three combined for 17 of the Sixers’ 21 points in the third. Detroit’s defense did its job against the Sixers bench while still keeping a double-digit lead throughout the frame. Their lead was 14 by the time the buzzer rang. 

The Sixers’ offensive struggles continued into the final quarter, and my goodness, was it bad. They only scored a whopping 12 points (most of them were garbage time) and only 33 points in the second half combined. It basically became a shootaround as the Sixers had only had two points until late in the quarter. They started to finally score once they took out the starters and threw in the white flag. Detroit kept rolling, keeping their starters in and adding on more as they prevailed to a 116-93 victory. It’s the first time since March 3rd that the Sixers have been unable to score 100 points in a game.

The loss moves the Sixers back into a play-in spot with just four games left in the regular season. They will travel out west for a two-game series in Texas, visiting Victor Wembenyama and the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00 PM.

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