3 observations after Sixers earn blowout, wire-to-wire win over Pistons

The Sixers earned a shorthanded, blowout, wire-to-wire win Saturday night in Detroit. 

They notched a 111-96 victory over the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, moving to 4-14 this season. Detroit fell to 9-13. 

Tyrese Maxey posted 28 points and six assists.

Both KJ Martin and Ricky Council IV were outstanding off the Sixers' bench. Martin tallied 19 points, his most yet as a Sixer, on 7-for-8 shooting. He also had six rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

Council recorded 17 points and five rebounds.

Paul George returned from a three-game absence with a left knee bone bruise and had 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists over 26 minutes.

The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid (left knee injury management/personal reasons), Caleb Martin (upper back soreness), Kyle Lowry (right hip strain) and Reggie Jackson (right knee soreness). Andre Drummond suffered a right ankle sprain in the first quarter and did not return. 

Cade Cunningham (left sacroiliac joint sprain) was a late scratch for a Pistons team playing on the second night of a back-to-back. 

The Sixers will next face the Hornets on Tuesday night in Charlotte. Here are observations on their decisive win Saturday: 

Sixers work through yet another injury 

The Sixers opened their second consecutive game with Guerschon Yabusele and Drummond in the frontcourt. Jared McCain, who’d started the team’s last seven games, served as the backup point guard.  

George’s decision-making was strong in the early going. He drove and kicked the ball to Kelly Oubre Jr. for the night’s first basket, then tossed a successful alley-oop to Drummond.

After a Drummond tip-in, he appeared to step on Tobias Harris’ foot and went down to the floor in pain, grabbing his right ankle. Teammates Justin Edwards and Council assisted him back to the locker room with 8:27 left in the first quarter. Unsurprisingly, the Sixers officially ruled Drummond out for the game early in the second quarter. 

Drummond’s exit led to rookie Adem Bona’s first NBA action outside of garbage time since the Sixers’ loss to the Cavs on Nov. 13.

Seconds after Bona checked in, George set him up for a dunk. The Sixers started hot from three-point range and an Oubre leaner off a solid Bona ball screen put the team up 22-7.

Bona did get called for two offensive fouls in the first half — a moving screen and a hard bump as he looked to establish position in the post — but he otherwise fared quite well. The UCLA product knew where to be defensively, protected the rim effectively, worked diligently on the glass and didn’t seem overwhelmed at all by the sudden shift to an important role. He finished with four points, five rebounds and three blocks in 20 minutes.

Council and Martin boost stock again

On Wednesday night, Council posted a season-high 12 points in the Sixers’ overtime defeat to the Rockets. He exceeded that in Saturday’s first half. 

As soon as he checked in, Council snagged a missed Bona free throw and converted an and-one layup. Both Council and KJ Martin were dangerous in the open floor and hungry to attack the rim. Martin turned a block into a coast-to-coast bucket. Council plowed ahead and forced defenders to foul him, just as he’d done in several impressive performances as a rookie. Council knocked down two free throws for the final points of the first quarter, giving the Sixers a 37-20 lead. 

That advantage shrunk in the second quarter. Maxey was a bit off his game in the mid-range and around the hoop, shooting 3 for 12 from the floor in the first half. Facing tight, physical defense, McCain didn’t attempt a shot in 13 first-half minutes. 

Malik Beasley’s jumpers helped Detroit get back into the game, too. His fourth three-pointer of the night was especially deep and trimmed the Pistons’ deficit to 54-50. 

Thanks largely to Council and Martin, the Sixers avoided completely relinquishing their lead. Council hit a timely three and Martin rejected an Isaiah Stewart layup at the first-half buzzer. Martin started the second half and capped a 7-0 Sixers run with a lefty put-back slam. 

Broadly speaking, Saturday’s game was certainly further reason to believe that high-energy, ultra-athletic players like Martin and Council deserve significant minutes at the moment for the Sixers.

Stellar night for Sixers’ youth 

Maxey firmly pushed his team back into a double-digit lead early in the third quarter.

The All-Star guard made two triples and three layups. He also assisted a couple of Martin hoops, including an easy dunk out of the pick-and-roll. At this point, it's rare for Maxey to be noticeably affected by missed jumpers and bad bounces. He's grown accustomed to maintaining aggression and confidence when the Sixers need him to be their top offensive option.

McCain scored his first basket late in the third quarter, making a short jumper that extended the Sixers' lead to 84-62. The Pistons never threatened any sort of comeback from there and the Sixers' defensive effort did not lapse. At the tail end of the third quarter, McCain closed out right on top of Ron Holland II, who air balled a corner three as the shot clock expired.

On a veteran-heavy team, the Sixers' youth seriously shined Saturday night. For much of the fourth quarter, the 28-year-old Oubre was the oldest Sixer on the court. Maxey (24 years old), Martin (23), Council (23) and Bona (21) were all key figures in Detroit.