76ers at Pistons: Recap and Post Game Thread

The Philadelphia 76ers have won 12 consecutive games for the first time since 1990. The Sixers built a big first-half lead that was never relinquished in a 115-108 win against the Detroit Pistons. The victory pushed Philadelphia into a tie for third place with the Cleveland Cavaliers while officially eliminating the Pistons from playoff contention.

The Sixers (48-30) did not seemed to be bothered by missing Joel Embiid and Dario Saric for a third consecutive game. Brett Brown got contributions from the entire rotation on Wednesday night, leading to the team’s 50^th win of the season.

Six different players scored in double figures but J.J. Redick led the way. The veteran was on the mark early and often in Detroit. Redick finished with 25 points and connected on five 3-pointers. It was his 20^th 20-point game of the season, which is second on the team behind Embiid. Redick added six assists and two rebounds in a team-high 33 minutes on the court.

Simmons continued his dominant run in the absence of The Process. The rookie finished with at least 13 points for a fifth consecutive game. Simmons collected 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists while shooting 7-of-10 from the floor.

Ilyasova started in his third consecutive game with Saric still unavailable. He had a poor shooting night, making just four of his 16 shot attempts. However, Ilyasova finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double in the last four games.

Richaun Holmes and Marco Belinelli were big factors off of the bench for the visitors. Holmes finished with 11 points, which included three points off of non-dunks. Belinelli made four 3-pointers and ended the night with 19 points in 30 minutes.

Amir Johnson was the last of the 10 players to score for the 76ers but the starting center put together a good night. He finished with 9 points, which included a made 3-pointer, and 10 rebounds.

As a team, the Sixers shot 49.4 percent from the field. The team assisted on 32 of its 44 made field goals. Philadelphia stayed hot from beyond the arc, making 13 of 30 3-point attempts. It was the third straight game that the Sixers finished above 40 percent from deep.

The loss officially eliminated Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons as they fell to 37-41 on the season. Detroit played without Blake Griffin and had its five-game winning streak snapped.

Game Notes:

• Markelle Fultz attempted an actual 3-pointer. He missed it but I have seen worse shots. Fultz finished with 4 points and 4 assists in 15 minutes.
• This is the Sixers’ sixth consecutive road win. That’s the franchise’s longest road streak since 2002.
• The Sixers finished off the season sweep of the Pistons, winning all four games by an average of 14.8 points.
• The 76ers currently sit in a tie with LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Cleveland visits the Wells Fargo Center on Friday in what may be the Sixers’ biggest regular season game of the year.