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 for their fifth straight win.
Joel Embiid had 19 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia. Shake Milton scored 16 points and Georges Niang added 14 off the bench.
“This group is really close, they don’t have any distractions, and they play hard,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said.
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.
They weren’t able to have a walkthrough on Thursday morning after Isaiah Joe’s entry into the COVID-19 protocols required the entire team to be tested.
Jeremi Grant scored 27 for the Pistons, but only five in the second half.
“In the first half, we ran our offense and the ball got to Jeremi for some good shots,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “In the second half, everyone came out and waited for Jeremi to do his thing. We can’t play like that and expect to win.”
Cade Cunningham had 18 points and 11 rebounds but missed 13 of his 17 field-goal attempts. Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick this summer, is shooting 17.9% (7 for 39) in his first three games, including 1 for 21 on 3-pointers.
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, playing on his 21st birthday, 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.