Seth Curry had 23 points, Tyrese Maxey supplied 20 and the visiting Philadelphia Sixers pulled away from the struggling Detroit Pistons on Thursday for their fifth straight victory, 109-98.
Jerami Grant had 27 points, six rebounds, and four assists for the Pistons, who were limited to 32 second-half points. Cade Cunningham, the top pick of the draft, recorded his first double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds despite 4-for-17 shooting from the field. Kelly Olynyk added 11 points and Killian Hayes chipped in 10 for Detroit, which has won just one game.
Grant scored 22 first-half points as the Pistons grabbed a 66-63 halftime lead. Curry led the Sixers with 18 points with both teams shooting better than 52 percent from the field before the break.
Detroit committed just two first-half turnovers, but that quickly changed in the third quarter. Philadelphia opened the second half with an 11-2 run, including five points from Curry. The Pistons had three turnovers in the first four-plus minutes, including two by Cunningham.
The rookie then knocked down his first career 3-pointer on his 19th attempt. After the Pistons pulled within one, Maxey went on a personal 6-0 run to increase the Sixers’ lead to 80-73.
Philadelphia carried an 86-82 lead into the fourth.
The Sixers then took control with an 11-0 run to start the quarter. Niang scored nine of those points, including a pair of 3-pointers. The Pistons contributed to their demise with a couple of turnovers.
Grant had a three-point play to end the drought. A couple of Cunningham free throws cut Detroit’s deficit to eight points, but Philadelphia responded with an 8-0 run. Embiid hit a fadeaway jumper and two free throws, while Maxey had a steal and layup in that span.
