The early minutes of Wednesday night’s matchup between the 7-1 Philadelphia 76ers and the 6-1 Detroit Pistons had the kind of collision you’d expect from two of the East’s best teams. Both sides came in with strong records, and Philadelphia’s only loss so far had already come against Detroit.
Before the game settled into its usual grind, Joel Embiid and Cade Cunningham ended up matched against each other, with Embiid taking the mismatch. The 76ers star caught the ball beyond the arc, showed a pump fake, and Cunningham didn’t bite. But Embiid’s fake came with a raised leg that caught Cunningham in the groin, leaving the Pistons guard visibly hurt as Embiid slipped into a backdoor cut for an easy two points.
Given Embiid’s 7-foot-0, 270-pound frame, it had to be a rough shot to absorb. Even so, Cunningham stayed in the game and did not appear to carry any lingering effects from the accidental contact.
By halftime, Cunningham was still on the floor for Detroit, with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists in 20 minutes. The Pistons, though, were already staring at a double-digit hole, trailing Philadelphia 56-42.
Joel Embiid accidentally kicks Cade Cunningham below the belt 😬
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 5, 2026
pic.twitter.com/CW0pSUknX8
That makes Cunningham’s status especially important for Detroit, which is already without Jalen Duren because of a hamstring injury. With Duren on the shelf, Paul Reed and Tolu Smith III are the ones tasked with trying to slow Embiid as the Pistons look to chip away at the deficit in the second half.
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Nick Nurse said Barlow is seeing a specialist and has only had limited court time so far, with a re-evaluation expected soon. For a Philadelphia roster that could use every available body up front, the uncertainty is the frustrating part, because there still is no firm timeline for when Barlow might be ready to join the mix. [Read more 🡒]