Seth Curry, Tyrese Maxey Lead Shorthanded Sixers Past Pistons
DETROIT (AP) -- Seth Curry scored 23 points, Tyrese Maxey added 20 and the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons 109-98 on Thursday night.
Joel Embiid had 19 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia. Shake Milton scored 16 points.
The Sixers, playing for the second straight night, only used eight players. Furkan Korkmaz (wrist) sat out, while former Pistons forward Tobias Harris remained sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols.
Jeremi Grant scored 27 for the Pistons, but only five in the second half. Cade Cunningham had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Detroit got 22 points from Grant on its way to a 66-63 halftime lead. Curry had 18.
Cunningham beat the shot clock from the center-court logo with 7:20 left in the third, his first make after missing his first 18 career 3-point attempts.
Maxey had nine points in the third quarter as the 76ers took a 86-82 lead. The Pistons shot 27.3% (6 for 22) from the floor in the period. Philadelphia led 97-82 with 8:13 to play, but Cunningham hit four free throws as the Pistons cut the deficit to 97-89.
Embiid ended the run with a short jumper, and the Sixers turned two turnovers into easy baskets to make it 103-89 with 5:46 left.
TIP-INS
Sixers: C Andre Drummond, who played his first 591 NBA games with the Pistons, was booed every time he touched the ball. ... Embiid's three first-half rebounds gave him 3,000 in his NBA career.
Pistons: Olynyk stole the ball from Drummond and hit a 27-footer at the buzzer to give Detroit a 32-31 lead at the end of the first quarter. ... PG Killian Hayes left the game with a left thumb injury, but returned for the last 6:29.
UP NEXT
Sixers: Visit the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Pistons: Host the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
(©Copyright 2021 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)