The Sixers’ perfect start is over.
Philadelphia took its first loss of the season Sunday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, falling 106-93 to the Pistons and slipping to 3-1. Detroit moved to 3-0.
Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 29 points. LeBron James finished with 18, and Jaylen Brown added 16. For Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 26 and Duncan Robinson had 21.
The Sixers were short-handed on the second night of a back-to-back, with Joel Embiid sidelined for right plantar fasciitis injury management, VJ Edgecombe out with an abdominal contusion and Jabari Walker missing because of left knee soreness. Detroit was without Jalen Duren, who has a right hamstring strain, and Ausar Thompson, who has a right ankle sprain.
Philadelphia opened without a traditional center, going with Maxey, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Brown, James and Dean Wade. Adem Bona later entered at the five, but the bigger issue was how quickly the Sixers got pushed around.
Detroit’s edge on the glass showed up almost immediately. The Pistons collected five offensive rebounds before Philadelphia managed its first defensive board, and the Sixers’ early possessions were just as rough. Maxey missed two shots in the paint and a mid-range attempt, Paul Reed followed with a put-back layup, Cunningham scored in transition, and Nick Nurse had already used a timeout as his team stumbled into a 15-1 deficit.
That kind of start was always going to be hard to survive, especially with the Sixers already missing depth behind Embiid. Ariel Hukporti is out with a right Achilles tendon tear, and Dominick Barlow remains sidelined by a lower back stress reaction. Sunday’s opening stretch made that shortage look even more glaring.
Maxey’s night got even trickier when he picked up his second foul with 6:09 left in the first quarter. That brought rookie Labaron Philon Jr. into the game, and he scored his first NBA points on a fast-break floater.
Anfernee Simons and Bona were also part of the shorthanded second unit, and Bona gave Philadelphia a lift late in the quarter with active play on both ends. He finished with six points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in 25 minutes.
Maxey returned to begin the second quarter and got on the board with 7:06 remaining, but he was tagged for his third foul 32 seconds later. Detroit kept the pressure on him throughout the first half, with Daniss Jenkins picking him up closely and bodies waiting for him in the lane.
The Sixers made things interesting after falling behind by 21 late in the second. They closed the half on a 9-0 run, then kept the momentum going to start the third quarter. James’ fast-break layup cut the Pistons’ lead to 58-53 and brought the crowd into it.
Philadelphia kept fighting from there, but Detroit never fully cracked. Free throws didn’t help the Sixers either, as James and Brown combined to go 6 for 14 at the line.
The Sixers still had the Pistons under real pressure in the fourth quarter. Bona hammered home a put-back dunk, then tracked down another offensive rebound on the next possession. Maxey later buried a mid-range jumper over Jenkins to pull Philadelphia within 79-75, and he found his rhythm in the second half, leaning on that downhill burst that keeps defenses on edge.
But Detroit steadied itself and closed the door before the Sixers could finish the comeback.
Philadelphia showed fight again, just like it did in the home opener, but the slow start was too much to erase. The Sixers head to Indiana next, facing the Pacers on Wednesday.
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