Malik Beasley scored a career-high 36 points and the host Detroit Pistons rolled past the Philadelphia 76ers 125-112 on Friday night.
Tobias Harris added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who led by as much as 34 points while ending a two-game skid.
Detroit’s Ausar Thompson supplied 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Jalen Duren added 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Tyrese Maxey’s 27 points and seven assists led the Sixers. Joel Embiid scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half, and he also logged seven rebounds and six assists.
Detroit’s All-Star point guard, Cade Cunningham, was a late scratch due to a right ankle sprain. Cunningham was absent from a game for the first time since Nov. 30 and the fifth time this season.
The Pistons went on a 17-3 run in the first quarter to take a 27-11 lead. Marcus Sasser tossed in a 3-pointer at the period-ending buzzer to give Detroit a 42-27 lead. That ranked as the team’s highest-scoring quarter this season and tied for Philadelphia’s season high by an opponent.
It didn’t get any better for Philadelphia in the second. Beasley drained a 3-pointer with 8:50 left in the half for a 53-35 lead. Beasley soon stretched the advantage to 20 with another 3-pointer, and Tim Hardaway Jr. followed with a trey.
The onslaught continued and the Pistons led by 78-49 at the break. The score was also a Detroit season high for any half this season, led by Beasley’s 20 points.
Beasley also opened up the second half with a 3-pointer. Harris followed with a midrange jumper to give the Pistons a 34-point advantage.
Embiid, who shot 1-for-9 from the field in the first half, scored Philadelphia’s first nine points of the second half. He sparked a 27-7 run that cut the Pistons’ lead to 92-78.
Embiid wound up with 20 third-quarter points, but Detroit managed to push the lead to 107-88 by the end of the period.
Duren’s three-point play with 9:03 left made it 115-93. The Sixers scored the next 11 points, capped by a Maxey 3-pointer, to pull within 115-104. Beasley fired in two 3-pointers to keep Philadelphia at bay.
–Field Level Media
