Pistons 106, 76ers 93: Detroit starts 3-0 behind a 15-1 opening run
Cade Cunningham scored 26 and Detroit's early burst held up against a Philadelphia side missing Joel Embiid on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Detroit Pistons stayed unbeaten with a 106-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, opening the game on a 15-1 run and answering each Philadelphia push, according to CBS Philadelphia.
How it went
Detroit led by as many as 21 in the first half. Philadelphia, playing the second night of a back-to-back, cut into that: LeBron James scored on three straight layups during a 9-0 run that trimmed the halftime deficit to 56-44.
The Sixers got within five in the third quarter, but Cade Cunningham hit two straight three-pointers to push the lead back to nine, and Detroit led by 10 heading into the fourth. Philadelphia later closed the gap to four, and a Duncan Robinson three-pointer stopped that run. Philadelphia never took the lead.
The numbers
Cunningham led Detroit with 26 points. John Collins added 16 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. The Pistons made 14 three-pointers in all, five of them by Robinson. For Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey scored 29 and James, who is 41, added 18 after sitting out the previous game against Milwaukee to rest his back.
Who was missing
Philadelphia played without Joel Embiid, who sat out for rest one night after a triple-double against Milwaukee, and VJ Edgecombe, who missed the game with an abdominal contusion. Detroit was short-handed too: it was the Pistons' first game without All-Star center Jalen Duren, who strained his right hamstring in the first half of Friday's win over Miami and will miss at least two weeks.
What it means
Detroit moves to 3-0. Philadelphia, which had opened with three straight wins, drops to 3-1. Context matters for both sides here: Detroit won comfortably without its starting center, but the Sixers were without their top big man on a back-to-back, so one result should not be over-read.
Detroit plays at New York on Tuesday. Philadelphia visits Indiana on Wednesday.