PHILADELPHIA — The game was already well in hand for the Philadelphia 76ers, but the Detroit Pistons were, at the least, generous losers.
They gave the Wells Fargo Center crowd one last thing to cheer about as their 76ers led the Pistons by 36 midway through the fourth: A pair of missed free throws by Marcus Sasser earned every fan in the arena five free chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A.
It produced one of the loudest roars of the night, and was the cherry on top of a bitter sundae for the Pistons in a season that will go down as one of the most unfortunate the franchise has ever seen. With history on the line, the Pistons failed to execute in virtually every facet, falling 124-92 to the 76ers.
The Pistons (2-23) wound up losing by 32 — tied for their worst loss of the season — for their franchise-record 22nd consecutive loss. The previous record was owned by the 1979-80 (14 losses) and 1980-81 Pistons (seven), who strung together 21 straight losses. This year’s iteration had long surpassed the previous single-season record, which was 14. It’s the sixth longest single-season losing streak in NBA history, with No. 23 — which would tie the 1996 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 1997 Denver Nuggets and the 2012 Charlotte Hornets for the third-longest — looming Saturday night with a visit to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 32-point defeat comes just a week after the previous 32-point loss, last Friday against the Orlando Magic.
At halftime in Philly, Detroit had made just 15 of 43 field goals attempts (34.9%), one of 11 3-point attempts (9.1%) and turned the ball over 12 times. The Sixers capitalized, outscoring the Pistons 35-17 in the second quarter to build a 22-point lead at halftime. The lead ballooned as high as 41 in the fourth quarter.
It was Detroit’s second straight blowout loss to the Sixers, following a 129-111 defeat Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena. And it was another dominant showing by Joel Embiid, who followed Wednesday’s 41 point, 11-rebound, five-assist performance with 35 points and 13 rebounds on Friday. He had just two assists Friday, at least.
Wednesday’s game involved sparks between Sixers guard Patrick Beverley and Isaiah Stewart, who retaliated after being elbowed in the stomach by the veteran. Beverley got away with it, but Stewart’s shove, which knocked Beverley off of his feet, earned the Pistons forward an ejection with just 6.8 seconds left in the third quarter.
The two exchanged words an hour before Friday’s game and had to be separated by assistant coaches and security, but that fire didn’t extend to the game. Only one starter — Bojan Bogdanovic — scored in double figures (17 points). Stewart, Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes and Ausar Thompson combined for 19 points, despite playing at least 20 minutes each.
James Wiseman had 20 points and 13 rebounds — both season highs. The positives stop there for Detroit, which hit just four of its 21 3-point attempts (a season-low 19%, after nearly setting a season low Wednesday) and turned the ball over 21 times, their second-highest total of the season.
Head coach Monty Williams virtually waved the white flag in the third quarter, when Sasser and Joe Harris checked in with 4:33 on the clock, and the team facing a 33-point deficit.
Where do Pistons go from here?
There’s only one notable observation from this game: The Pistons look demoralized. It showed in their body language. Nearly every turnover and missed shot produced outward shows of frustration.
The Sixers are a bad matchup, as Embiid was able to take advantage of a team missing two of its four bigs in Jalen Duren and Marvin Bagley III. But this team’s woes have been present since the second week of the season, regardless of who has been in uniform.
2023-12-15
Detroit Pistons’ worst loss of season (by 32) sets franchise record with 22nd straight loss
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press
PHILADELPHIA — The game was already well in hand for the Philadelphia 76ers, but the Detroit Pistons were, at the least, generous losers.
They gave the Wells Fargo Center crowd one last thing to cheer about as their 76ers led the Pistons by 36 midway through the fourth: A pair of missed free throws by Marcus Sasser earned every fan in the arena five free chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A.
It produced one of the loudest roars of the night, and was the cherry on top of a bitter sundae for the Pistons in a season that will go down as one of the most unfortunate the franchise has ever seen. With history on the line, the Pistons failed to execute in virtually every facet, falling 124-92 to the 76ers.
The Pistons (2-23) wound up losing by 32 — tied for their worst loss of the season — for their franchise-record 22nd consecutive loss. The previous record was owned by the 1979-80 (14 losses) and 1980-81 Pistons (seven), who strung together 21 straight losses. This year’s iteration had long surpassed the previous single-season record, which was 14. It’s the sixth longest single-season losing streak in NBA history, with No. 23 — which would tie the 1996 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 1997 Denver Nuggets and the 2012 Charlotte Hornets for the third-longest — looming Saturday night with a visit to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 32-point defeat comes just a week after the previous 32-point loss, last Friday against the Orlando Magic.
At halftime in Philly, Detroit had made just 15 of 43 field goals attempts (34.9%), one of 11 3-point attempts (9.1%) and turned the ball over 12 times. The Sixers capitalized, outscoring the Pistons 35-17 in the second quarter to build a 22-point lead at halftime. The lead ballooned as high as 41 in the fourth quarter.
It was Detroit’s second straight blowout loss to the Sixers, following a 129-111 defeat Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena. And it was another dominant showing by Joel Embiid, who followed Wednesday’s 41 point, 11-rebound, five-assist performance with 35 points and 13 rebounds on Friday. He had just two assists Friday, at least.
Wednesday’s game involved sparks between Sixers guard Patrick Beverley and Isaiah Stewart, who retaliated after being elbowed in the stomach by the veteran. Beverley got away with it, but Stewart’s shove, which knocked Beverley off of his feet, earned the Pistons forward an ejection with just 6.8 seconds left in the third quarter.
The two exchanged words an hour before Friday’s game and had to be separated by assistant coaches and security, but that fire didn’t extend to the game. Only one starter — Bojan Bogdanovic — scored in double figures (17 points). Stewart, Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes and Ausar Thompson combined for 19 points, despite playing at least 20 minutes each.
James Wiseman had 20 points and 13 rebounds — both season highs. The positives stop there for Detroit, which hit just four of its 21 3-point attempts (a season-low 19%, after nearly setting a season low Wednesday) and turned the ball over 21 times, their second-highest total of the season.
Head coach Monty Williams virtually waved the white flag in the third quarter, when Sasser and Joe Harris checked in with 4:33 on the clock, and the team facing a 33-point deficit.
Where do Pistons go from here?
There’s only one notable observation from this game: The Pistons look demoralized. It showed in their body language. Nearly every turnover and missed shot produced outward shows of frustration.
The Sixers are a bad matchup, as Embiid was able to take advantage of a team missing two of its four bigs in Jalen Duren and Marvin Bagley III. But this team’s woes have been present since the second week of the season, regardless of who has been in uniform.