Sixers lay an egg in Detroit

The Sixers had their Big 3 active but it didn’t matter as they fell down by as many as 34 in a mostly lifeless loss to the Pistons.

Well, the Big 3’s sparkling lineup data is sure to take a hit after this one.

The Sixers, with all three of their stars available for the first time since Jan. 4, got destroyed 125-112 by the Cade Cunningham-less Detroit Pistons Friday night.

After a total no-show in the first half, Joel Embiid finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and six assists that was mostly done in the third quarter. Paul George had 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 27 points and seven assists.

In his Sixers’ debut, Quentin Grimes finished with 14 points shooting 5-of-9 from the field.

Malik Beasley led all scorers with 36 points.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• A 6-of-11 start for the Pistons and a slow defensive start for the Sixers prompted an early timeout. It was already a struggle to keep Ausar Thompson off the glass and they weren’t exactly getting back in transition.
• Maxey got to the rim easily, and PG stepped into a midrange jumper off the dribble which is already a better sign, but there were no other positives in the early going. Embiid opened the game 0-of-4, not deterring much either as he picked up two quick fouls.
• Another small positive at this point is that Adem Bona relieved Embiid rather than Andre Drummond, who was active tonight. Grimes also checked in for the first time as a Sixer. His first points came at the free throw line. He buried a three with a hand in his face on the following possession. There is only barely more footage of it than Wilt Chamblerain’s 100 points.

• Even after better minutes from the second unit, Marcus Sasser drilled a deep three at the buzzer, capping off a quarter where Detroit shot 10-of-13 from deep and got out to a 15-point lead.

Second Quarter

• George walked into a couple more jumpers, and Embiid got on the board, but they did little to stop the Pistons raining down threes on them. Detroit was turning 50% of live rebounds into fast breaks which, according to Cleaning the Glass, is a lot.
• On top of just an overall poor effort, the Sixers made a bunch of goofy mistakes as well. Kyle Lowry missed a layup point blank, Kelly Oubre Jr. couldn’t find a rebound that bounced twice behind him. The offensive problems began with Embiid though — he shot 1-of-9 in the first half. He completely fumbled a pocket pass as he couldn’t get in any sort of rhythm.
• It turns out Drummond was only active in case of emergency, but it was Bona he came in for after suffering a blow to the face. Even after eight games off, he didn’t look very comfortable or mobile whatsoever. Of course it seemed like no one was taking advantage of the wide open lanes more than Tobias Harris. He had 14 as one of four Pistons to score in double figures. After surrendering 78 points at the half the Sixers trailed by 29 points. Twenty-nine.

Third Quarter

• The second half picked right back up as Beasley continued to knock down shots off of screens. The Sixers strung together a few competent possessions when some shots started to fall for Embiid, and they were able to get the lead under 30.
• Embiid’s heater continued, so much so that the Sixers were able to rip off a 20-4 run to make the scoreboard look semi-respectable. Everything he didn’t have going on in the first half he did in the third.
• A putback dunk by Harris seemed to undo all of that. After surrendering an open three then a fast break, Embiid and Oubre were caught having a heated argument on the bench. Cooler heads seemed to prevail as Maxey helped them hash it out.

• The quarter ended with a classic Bball Paul sequence as Paul Reed stole an outlet pass. He had his dunk attempt blocked by Embiid but was put back by Harris. He went on to deflect the ensuing inbounds to Beasley, and slammed home Beasley’s missed three-pointer. So much Sixers nightmare fuel as they closed the quarter trailing by 19.

Fourth Quarter

• Some slightly good news as Bona was back out there after his injury scare. Time will tell if Embiid playing a whole quarter was ambitious. Drummond also got some minutes here as the second unit was a mess to start the quarter, save for Grimes knocking down another three. Eric Gordon was nowhere near the biggest problem of the night, but he had one of his worst games post wisdom-teeth surgery. He was 0-of-4 from the field, turned it over three times, and got called for the easiest and-1 of all time.
• Despite clear discomfort any time the ball came near his left hand, George was shooting the ball pretty well on the night. Grimes was able to tack on a couple more baskets help to them hang around.
• The game turned for good when a Grimes three that went all the way down rimmed out. On the next possession the Sixers surrendered an offensive rebound that led to a wide open Beasley three. For as much fight as they showed late, this was yet another embarrassing performance in a season that already has an alarming amount of those.
• The Sixers wrap up this quick road trip Sunday as they head to Milwaukee. They’ll take on the Bucks at 2 p.m. ET in what will definitely be the most notable Philadelphia sporting event of the day.