Joel Embiid had 33 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the host Detroit Pistons 114-110 on Saturday.
Ben Simmons supplied 20 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals, while Tobias Harris tossed in 17 points for the Sixers. Seth Curry added 14 points as Philadelphia won its third straight game.
Wayne Ellington led seven Pistons in double figures with 17 points. Svi Mykhailiuk contributed 15 points and Sekou Doumbouya had 13.
Jerami Grant was limited to 11 points on 3-for-19 shooting. Grant had scored 20 or more points for 14 consecutive games.
The Pistons rested Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose in the second game of a back-to-back.
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Ellington scored 15 first-half points as the Pistons led 63-61 at the break. Detroit knocked down nine 3-pointers by halftime while Philadelphia made just a pair.
Neither team led by more than five points in the third quarter until Embiid made an open 3-pointer from the top of the key, giving his club an 80-72 lead.
Detroit scored the next seven points. Late in the quarter, Mykhailiuk made back-to-back 3s to tie the score at 85-all. Shake Milton scored five points in the final minute of the quarter as Philadelphia took a 94-88 lead into the fourth.
Milton hit a 3-pointer and Dwight Howard had a dunk to increase the Sixers’ lead to 11 during the first two minutes of the fourth. Once again, the Pistons went on a 7-0 spurt to creep within four points.
Josh Jackson made two free throws with 2:30 left to cut the Pistons’ deficit to two, 107-105. Embiid then scored in the lane.
Embiid took a charge and blocked a shot to keep the Sixers’ advantage at four entering the final minute. Simmons split a pair of free throws with 31.9 seconds left.
Grant drained a 3-pointer to make it a two-point game. Simmons answered with two free throws.
Detroit’s Delon Wright made a layup but Embiid hit two free throws with 7.2 seconds left to ice the Sixers’ victory.
The teams will meet again in Detroit on Monday.
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–Field Level Media