Joel Embiid scores 41 points, causing the Pistons’ 21st consecutive loss to the 76ers.
Joel Embiid scored 30 points in the first half for the Philadelphia 76ers, resulting in a 129-111 loss against the Detroit Pistons. He also contributed 11 rebounds, averaging 40.8 points and 12.3 rebounds in his last four games. Embiid’s versatility and unpredictability in scoring have been praised by 76ers coach Nick Nurse.
Detroit has matched the longest streak in franchise history and the sixth-longest single-season losing streak in the NBA. The Pistons coach, Monty Williams, is concerned about the team’s locker room’s exhaustion from losing games, missing shots, and giving up 39-point quarters. Only the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 76ers have lost more games in a row in a season, while Philadelphia holds the overall record of 28.
Detroit dropped to 2-22, with the teams set to meet again in Philadelphia. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 33 points, while Cade Cunningham had 21. Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris added 21 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 17. Kelly’s shooting and confidence were praised by Nurse, who noted her ability to make heavily guarded threes.
The 76ers outrebounded Detroit 52-35, with Kelly Oubre Jr. contributing 17 points. The Pistons struggled to keep Philadelphia off the boards, playing a small-ball lineup with injured starting center Jalen Duren. Rebounding has been a point of emphasis for 24 games, and Detroit missed all seven 3-pointers in the quarter and had starting power forward Isaiah Stewart ejected for a foul on Patrick Beverley. The Pistons led 104-80 at the end of the period and by 30 with Embiid on the bench in the fourth.
