Sixers cruise in win vs. Pistons (Go Birds)

The Sixers rolled over the Detroit Pistons Sunday afternoon, bouncing back after an ugly loss Friday with a 123-111 win. James Harden wasted no time recording a triple-double, finishing with 20-11-11 on the day. Harden was one of three Sixers to score over 20, as Tyrese Maxey and Montrezl Harrell dropped 23 and 20 points, respectively.

Joel Embiid missed his third straight game with left foot soreness, and P.J. Tucker missed Sunday’s matinee as well with a non-COVID illness. The win improves the Sixers to 24-15.

Here are some instant observations from the victory.

First Quarter

• Like Friday night against the Bulls, the Sixers started out hot offensively with a 30-plus point first quarter. Unlike Friday night, James Harden looked really good in the process. He got to his spots much easier, scoring seven of his x in the opening frame while dishing out six assists.

• Three of those first quarter assists went to Montrezl Harrell, who had a game high 10 points after the opening frame. Philly’s big man rotation was humming out of the gate, with Paul Reed making the most of his minutes as well. Reed forced a couple of stops at the rim while also grabbing four offensive rebounds during his first shift.
• It had been a long time since we’ve seen a silly Paul Reed play, too long.

Second Quarter

• The second quarter bench unit shifts have gone a lot better this week, and that’s a result of leaving the second star out there with the bench. The bench shot 8 of 13 from the floor in the first half.

• There wasn’t much that the Sixers weren’t able to do in the first half offensively. They ended the half on a 21-4 run and shot 40 percent from downtown in the first half. James Harden was only one assist shy of a triple-double as the Sixers took a 17-point lead into the break.

Third Quarter

• Harden certainly decided he didn’t want to waste anymore time, as he picked up that triple-double on the first possession of the second half.

• The sooner he got that in the books the better, as it was around this time that 90 percent of the Delaware Valley flipped over to the Eagles game. Tyrese Maxey put Philly over the 30 point bench mark for the third straight quarter, as he his crossover jumper gave the Sixers an 18-point lead headed into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

• Paul Reed had quite the productive day. He finished with 16 points on 6-7 shooting, and grabbed 11 rebounds. More impressively, eight of those boards came on the offensive end.

• The Sixers’ next matchup is against these Pistons, as Detroit will come to Philadelphia Tuesday to take on the Sixers at 7 p.m.