PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday as they look to sweep home and home series while also sweeping the season series from their Central District opponents.
The Pistons are a young and rebuilding team that is still finding their way on the court, and they lack the likes of Cade Cunningham, Bojan Bogdanovic, Marvin Bagley III, Jay Players like Len Duran and Isaiah Stewart. They were shorthanded when they invaded Wells Fargo Center, and the 76ers welcomed Joel Embiid back into the lineup.
So Philly just wants to deal with business and get out of this situation healthy. That’s what they did, as they moved up by as many as 41 points in a comfortable 147-116 home win over the Pistons.
“They had a lot of guys out,” coach Doc Rivers said. “They’ve got injuries, they’re young, so for us, I just thought we had a professional game. We came out and played the right way. To build up the lead and get our players who need to play minutes, it’s great. Great. Great to see Jaden (Springer) and Paul (Reed) and all the players play tonight. Good for us.”
Considering the Sixers are still a team struggling to get everything ready for deep into the playoffs, commercial wins like Tuesday’s are needed. The Pistons were an underdog, and Philly did what they had to do.
“I don’t know if we’d have done it earlier,” James Harden added. “So for us it was just progress. We knew they were shorthanded players or something like that, but it wasn’t even about them or anyone else. It was about us, so I think we handled it the way we were supposed to. It. Come out, take care of business, and get ready for the next game.”
The 76ers basically let the game go in the third quarter. Harden and Joel Embiid, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter, were able to see what their other youngsters could do on Tuesday.
“We don’t want to mess around,” Embiid said. “I don’t know about my teammates, but I want to make sure we’re all together and on the same page, and it’s going to be a three-quarter game, not just messing it up. We did. So we have to basis.”
The 76ers host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire