The Philadelphia 76ers (24-15) faced the Detroit Pistons (11-32) for an afternoon matchup in the Motor City. The Sixers, with no Joel Embiid or P.J. Tucker, dominated throughout the game. James Harden notched a triple-double and Philly took the 123-111 win over the Pistons.

Let's break down the Sixers win over the Pistons.

Sixers player notes:

James Harden: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 7-14 FG shooting

Harden, coming off of a rough shooting night, got really cooking with Montrzl Harrell in the pick-and-roll and tallied seven points, six boards and four assists in just the first quarter. He was just one assist shy of a triple-double at the break, posting numbers he has never posted before in just one half. It was just a strong game overall for Harden, who secured his triple-double and was able to play only 28 minutes.

Tyrese Maxey: 23 points, 0 rebounds, 1 assist, 8-18 FG shooting

Maxey is starting to find a real groove now that he has a few games underneath him following his foot injury. He felt super confident firing away from deep (though he wasn't shooting the lights out) and was able to penetrate the Detroit defense often. In the third quarter, he scored seven points in the final minute.

Tobias Harris: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists, 2 blocks 5-11 FG shooting

Against one of his former squads, Harris was aggressive but not super impactful. He had a lot of trouble scoring but didn't shy away from the ball. In the second half, he found more success scoring the ball. His defense, highlighted by two blocks, was solid.

Montrezl Harrell: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-11 FG shooting

Harrell was moved to the starting lineup and showed off his pick-and-roll chemistry with Harden. He took advantage of the many opportunities he got to take it to the hoop out of a roll. It felt like on a few attempts he took off on his jump too far away from the hoop, leaving a few opportunities hanging. Still, it was another very solid outing for ‘Trezz.

Paul Reed: 16 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 6-7 FG shooting

Reed got extended minutes for the first time in over a month and did not miss a beat. His defense was great, as he didn't commit a foul until later in the first half, and his rebounding was stellar. The Pistons' bigs, no matter who they were, could not keep him away from the ball following a miss from one of his teammates. He had a variety of nice finishes around the hoop.

Pistons player notes:

Jaden Ivey: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4-13 FG shooting

The Pistons rookie couldn't get much going in this one. The Sixers looked to clog the driving lanes for the athletic guard out of Purdue and stuck De'Anthony Melton on him. He still did a good job with his passing but wasn't super impactful in this one.

Bojan Bogdanovic: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 7-17 FG shooting

One of the most sought-after trade targets ahead of the trade deadline, Bogdanovic didn't have a great scoring night but was still able to score here and there while making timely passes if multiple Sixers defenders showed him attention. Just like his previous game against Philly, he had a not-so-great shooting performance from the field but was effective from the charity stripe. His shooting efficiency was bumped up to normal levels with some garbage-time buckets.

Isaiah Stewart: 20 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 7-15 FG shooting

Like his counterpart on the Sixers, the Pistons big man scored often early on, tying his career-high for points in a quarter with 10 in the first. His size and coordination close to the hoop made him hard to stop. He was also good at keeping the ball moving.

Game notes:

1st half

  • The Sixers went with Montrezl Harrell in the starting lineup and used the pick-and-roll to start the offense. He was able to score a few points early on while also keeping his head up and looking to pass when he didn't have a lane. Aside from a missed open dunk, he was great on the offensive end to start it off, scoring 10 points on 4-6 shooting in the opening quarter.
  • Paul Reed subbed in for Harrell in the first quarter. He scored four points and had a spectacular over-the-head, no-look shot from just outside the paint that didn't count.
  • Maxey once again led a unit of mostly bench guys. He got some nice looks at the hoop, namely an and-one take to the bucket against Kevin Knox after teaming up with Reed to force a turnover from him.
  • Ivey got going in the second quarter, using his strength to get into the teeth of the Sixers defense and getting shots for himself and his teammates. On one drive, he rose up and tossed a beautiful pass to Knox for a triple.
  • The Sixers got a nice scoring bump from Georges Niang, who had 11 points in as many minutes in the first half. It's no surprise that “The Minivan” would find himself at home in the Motor City.
  • Philly led Detroit 71-54 at the break. Viewers who decided to clock out at halftime in favor of watching Jalen Hurts' return didn't miss all that much, as this one was practically already decided.

2nd half

  • Harden notched the 71st triple-double of his career on the Sixers' first offensive possession of the half with a dime to Harris on a cut to the hoop.
  • The Pistons did a good job of keeping the ball moving on offense, always looking to make the extra pass to get an open look. But they missed on too many of them, the ultimate reason why the Sixers maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half.
  • Maxey scored on three consecutive possessions to end the third quarter while the offense as a whole got the fourth quarter started with some pretty ball movement. The Sixers also got out on transition for easy looks.
  • Matisse Thybulle recorded a quartet of fourth-quarter steals, notching six on the day (tying his career-high) while also throwing some nice assists.
  • The final score didn't look nearly as lopsided as the game was because the Pistons starters played down the stretch in the fourth quarter against a Sixers lineup featuring Furkan Korkmaz, Danuel House Jr. and three other bench guys.

Random thoughts:

  • The Pistons' PA announcer referred to Bogdanovic as “Bojan Bogdangerous” in the starting lineup introductions, which is tremendous.
  • Reed continues to make the most of his limited minutes, particularly with his dominance on the glass. He collected five offensive rebounds in the first half while Detroit only had four. Why the Sixers don't look his way more amid their rebounding woes is so confusing.

The Sixers will head back to Wells Fargo Center and play the Pistons again on Tuesday.