The first NBA In-Season Tournament game for the Philadelphia 76ers (7-1) matched them up with the Detroit Pistons (2-8) at Little Caesars Arena. In a showdown between the respective owners of the best and worst record in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers shook off a bad start and won 114-106.

Let's break down the Sixers' first taste of In-Season Tournament action.

Sixers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 33 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 8-21 FG shooting

The Pistons tried Embiid at the rim a bunch and often came up empty. He had 10 boards (including four on offense) in the first half and used his size to make life tough for the young Pistons. Whether it came on rolls to the hoop or deep post-ups, he kept the pressure on.

Tyrese Maxey: 29 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals, 9-19 FG shooting

Maxey stayed aggressive throughout the game and, after relying too much on his floater in the first half, diversified his shots more later on by getting to the rim more often. His playmaking shined on his pocket passes to Embiid and he played physical defense, as well. Like Embiid with his size, Maxey knew he had speed no one else could keep up with and made it a point to take every fast break he could.

Pistons player notes:

Cade Cunningham: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 8-18 FG shooting

Cunningham, whose NBA-leading 5.4 turnovers per game is the most by a good margin, seemed like a prime candidate to struggle against the Sixers' stingy defense that has been pretty good at tallying steals. He looked super comfortable early on with his jumper looking crisp and four makes on his first four shots. But he faded as the game went on when Philly put a bigger defender on him and picked up five personal fouls.

For much of the game, Killian Hayes had the overall impact one would expect from Cunningham. The French lefty finished with 23 points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Ausar Thompson: 12 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 6-10 FG shooting

Thompson is going to be competing for the title of best ballhawk in basketball for a long, long time. That dude gets after it and has the size to do it against anyone. Whether he was on the ball on defense, providing weak-side rim protection, going for a rebound or something else, Thompson did a lot.

Game recap:

1st half

The Sixers came into the season and have proven thus far into 2023-24 to be the best team in their In-Season Tournament group. With four Group Play matchups in their next eight games, they will have to continue to play sharp if they want a shot at the NBA Cup, though their level of desire to win it is probably moderately high at best. They started off their slate of games against the worst team in their group with numerous key players ruled out.

“I think I’m a little surprised, it just seems to me like it's caught on a lot faster maybe than I thought it was going to, just in general,” Nurse said of the excitement the tournament has garnered so far, via Pistons PR's game notes. “I thought even last week, when the first games were played, it seemed like there were a lot of people tuning in and checking it out. I was even going back checking the pools on my own while I was watching games. I thought that would come a little bit later or once the standings started going on…I think everybody's pretty excited about it.”

The Sixers put De'Anthony Melton on Cunningham but the former first-overall pick got by him easily for early jumpers. Thompson guarded Maxey and blocked his first jumper of the night. Detroit raced out to an 11-3 lead in the first three minutes as Cunningham found success in the midrange and the youngsters got out in the fast break. Melton's poor season continued with two misses from deep and a five-second violation.

Embiid made life very tough for the Pistons down low on offense while he and Maxey got going in the pick-and-roll. Nico Batum and Patrick Beverley were Philly's first subs and Marcus Morris Sr. checked in later in the first quarter, playing with those two, Embiid and Robert Covington. The Sixers lacked energy and ended the opening period down by 12, shooting 6-20 with five turnovers.

Maxey went back to his floater to ignite offense for the Sixers with tough, off-balance floaters and free throws. He also hit a step-back three. Morris did not impress in his first real minutes for the Sixers, picking up two personal fouls and a technical while providing nothing on offense — though, to be fair, neither did anyone but Maxey to start the second quarter. Although the high pick-and-roll opened up space for him, he failed to convert more often than he succeeded. Without help from any of his teammates, Philly looked like a truck stuck in the mud.

The Sixers pressed in the backcourt but it barely fazed the Pistons, who ran all over them still. Embiid fought hard for space in the paint and did draw some fouls but it also showed Philly's continued inability to make an entry pass. Philly’s offense lacked any consistent rhythm, both because of Detroit's doing and its own. The Sixers were reduced to a slower pace and took more methodical, ball-movement-less possessions in the halfcourt too often.

At halftime, after their worst half of the season, the Sixers trailed 56-48. Philly got just three bench points and shot 31.0 percent from the field. Scoring eight more points than Detroit at the charity stripe kept it as close as it was.

2nd half

The Sixers went with Kelly Oubre Jr. on Cunningham to start the second half as shots from Embiid and Maxey instantly halved the deficit. Oubre took cookies from Cunningham for a fast break score. Playing with new life, the Sixers flew around the court on defense, forcing Pistons shots that came later in the shot clock, as Embiid tied the game on a Maxey-assisted three.

Sixers scores that tied the game after that was met with an answer from the Pistons. There was a scary play where Cunningham took Embiid's legs out from under him on a jumper. It was totally accidental — Cunningham slipped and lost his footing as he tried to contest the shot from behind — and thankfully, they both stayed in the game and got up quickly. Embiid made those free throws and then another pair to give Philly its first lead with just over 15 minutes of game time left.

Jaden Springer played in the third quarter over Morris. Covington had himself a very strong defensive game, using his quick hands to gunk up the game for Detroit and tally four steals in under 15 minutes. Melton hit a three — finally! — then drew a foul in transition, tacking on another free throw. The Sixers led by six heading into the final frame after outscoring Detroit 35-21 in the third quarter.

Melton tacked on another three at the start of the fourth as Cunningham failed to find the shooting stroke he had early on. The Sixers hunkered down on defense and Maxey again took over the fourth quarter. He caused a few turnovers and powered Philly's offense in various ways, putting Philly up by double digits without Embiid's help.

Tobias Harris was impactful down the stretch, too. The veteran continued to score on downhill drives with gusto, cooking one of his former squads. Embiid did eventually come back in. As nice as it would have been for Philly to get him more rest, it was the right call to make sure their comeback efforts didn’t go in vain. They did not. The Sixers are now 1-0 in Group Play and have won seven straight games.

Random rumblings:

  • A gray basketball court feels so weird but the Pistons' In-Season Tournament court didn’t look too bad. Their uniforms are super clean.
  • Patrick Beverley sustained a neck injury that sidelined him for the rest of the game. Keep an eye on that moving forward.

The Sixers will return home and face the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.