The Philadelphia 76ers returned to their home court Wednesday night after a tough West Coast road trip and the familiar confines once again proved to be beneficial. With the help of the returns of Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson, the Sixers cruised to a 124-106 win over the Detroit Pistons.
After falling behind 17-11 about five minutes into the game, the Sixers offense started to get going and the team finished the first quarter on a 23-12 run to take a five-point lead after one.
The strong offensive play continued in the second quarter as the Sixers dropped 36 second-quarter points on the way to a 70-55 halftime lead. Four Sixers reached double figures by halftime, led by Furkan Korkmaz’s 13.
From there, the Sixers simply kept the Pistons at bay, ultimately cruising to a comfortable 18-point win.
Embiid was fantastic in his return, dropping 30 points and grabbing 14 rebounds while hitting 9-of-17 from the field, 2-of-3 from 3, and 10-of-12 from the foul line. Al Horford had another strong game, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Horford shot 8-of-11 overall and 4-of-6 from 3. Korkmaz had 17 points off the bench and Tobias Harris added 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Shake Milton rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12.
It was an impressive offensive night for the Sixers. They eclipsed the 30-point mark in two separate quarters and didn’t score fewer than 25 in any quarter. Philadelphia shot 50.6% from the field and 42.4% from 3. The Sixers also earned 32 trips to the free-throw line and dominated on the glass, outrebounding Detroit 50-32.
The win was welcome for the Sixers after the rough trip out west, and it was good to see the quality offensive performance from the team.