Detroit Pistons Clinch Eastern Conference No. 1 Seed with Dominant Win Over 76ers

PHILADELPHIA — Two seasons ago, the Detroit Pistons were mired in a 28-game losing streak and barreling toward the worst record in franchise history. On Saturday night, they walked out of a hostile arena as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

With All-Star guard Cade Cunningham still sidelined, Detroit routed the Philadelphia 76ers 116-93 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, clinching the East’s top seed and home-court advantage through the conference playoffs.

The win moved Detroit to 57-21, its best record since the mid-2000s, and locked up the franchise’s first No. 1 seed in the East since the 2006-07 season. Philadelphia fell to 43-35 and deeper into the pack of teams jockeying for position in the play-in tournament.

“We’re the definition of team,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said afterward. “We’re not just a bunch of individuals in a locker room.”

Balanced blowout on the road

All five Pistons starters scored in double figures and seven players reached at least 10 points as Detroit overwhelmed a 76ers team playing without center Joel Embiid on the second night of a back-to-back.

Tobias Harris, booed heavily in his first high-stakes return to Philadelphia since being traded in 2025, led Detroit with 19 points, four rebounds and four steals in 27 minutes. Jalen Duren added 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while rookie guard Daniss Jenkins continued his late-season surge as the fill-in floor general with 16 points and 14 assists.

Ausar Thompson finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals on 7-of-11 shooting. Duncan Robinson hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points, and reserve big man Paul Reed Jr. chipped in 10 points and seven boards off the bench.

Detroit shot 49.4% from the field and 39.3% from 3-point range, piling up 33 assists on 43 made baskets. The Pistons dominated the glass 45-33, including 16 offensive rebounds that repeatedly extended possessions and blunted any Philadelphia momentum.

On the other end, Detroit’s defense held the Sixers to 93 points, just 33 after halftime and only 12 in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia shot 44.3% overall, 27.6% from beyond the arc and committed 15 turnovers.

Tyrese Maxey scored 23 points to lead the 76ers, while Paul George had 20 points and five rebounds. Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe added 19 points and six boards, but no other Sixer scored in double figures.

Fast start, harder finish

The Pistons seized control immediately with a 41-point first quarter, their highest-scoring opening period of the season. Nine Detroit players scored in the first 12 minutes as Bickerstaff rotated aggressively, using a late 10-4 run powered by Jenkins, Reed and Marcus Sasser to build a 41-31 lead.

Philadelphia responded in the second quarter. With Embiid out due to right oblique injury management and illness, the offense flowed through Maxey and Edgecombe, who fueled a 14-6 run that tied the game at 52-52. The home crowd briefly came to life as the Sixers pushed the pace and attacked the rim.

Detroit answered with the kind of poised stretch that has defined its rise. Robinson drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, Jenkins added another from deep, and the Pistons closed the half on a 15-4 burst to restore a double-digit cushion. They led 71-60 at the break, having already scored more points in one half than the Sixers would manage over the final 24 minutes.

The third quarter turned into a defensive clampdown. George, who had 18 points in the first half, was limited to two in the period as Detroit tightened its coverages and flooded driving lanes. Philadelphia managed just eight field goals and committed seven turnovers in the quarter.

Detroit’s offense cooled — the Pistons shot 8-for-24 in the third — but their work on the boards and in the passing lanes kept the lead comfortable at 95-81 heading to the fourth.

The Sixers briefly cut the deficit to 12 early in the final period before Kevin Huerter’s 3-pointer blunted the push. From there, Philadelphia went nearly five minutes without a point. Harris’ driving basket pushed the lead to 104-83 with 5:28 remaining, and both teams began emptying their benches as the near-sellout crowd of 19,746 started heading for the exits.

Winning without Cunningham

Detroit has now gone 8-2 in the 10 games Cunningham has missed since being diagnosed with a collapsed left lung on March 19 following an in-game collision. The 24-year-old guard, who had been averaging roughly 24.5 points and 9.9 assists, is expected to be re-evaluated ahead of the playoffs. Team officials have indicated they are optimistic he will be available for Game 1 of the first round, though no formal clearance has been announced.

The Pistons also remain without forward Isaiah Stewart, a key interior defender sidelined with a left calf strain.

Bickerstaff said the response to those absences has been rooted in players leaning into their established roles rather than trying to replace stars outright.

“Guys aren’t trying to be someone they’re not,” he said. “They’re just trying to be the best version of themselves, and when everybody does that, the team is able to still win basketball games.”

Thompson echoed that approach, saying the team “gathered around” after Cunningham’s injury and understood it would have to be “more gritty” and defense-oriented to survive the stretch run.

Jenkins, who started the season on a two-way contract, has been central to that effort. In extended minutes as the starting point guard, he has averaged high-end scoring and playmaking numbers while keeping the offense organized.

“He’s fearless,” Harris said of Jenkins in a televised postgame interview. “He runs the show, he gets us into our sets, and defensively he’s competing every possession. That’s what you need at this time of year.”

A franchise reboot reaches a milestone

The clinch caps one of the most dramatic short-term turnarounds in recent NBA history.

Detroit finished 17-65 in 2022-23 and 14-68 in 2023-24, tying the league record with a 28-game skid and becoming a staple of late-night highlight segments for the wrong reasons. Under Bickerstaff, hired in the summer of 2024, and general manager Trajan Langdon, the Pistons climbed to 44-38 last season, made the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and snapped a 15-game postseason losing streak.

This season, the Pistons already have secured their first 50-win campaign and first Central Division title since 2007-08. They tied a franchise record with a 13-game winning streak earlier in the year and have spent much of the season near the top of the league in defensive efficiency and net rating.

Detroit last held the No. 1 seed in the East in 2006-07, when a veteran core anchored by Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace reached the conference finals. The franchise’s best-ever regular season came the year before at 64-18, another No. 1 seed that also ended in the East finals.

This group is younger and constructed differently, built around Cunningham, Duren and Thompson, supplemented by late-blooming contributors like Jenkins and a mix of veterans including Harris, Robinson and Huerter. But the identity — defense, depth and physicality — has drawn comparisons inside and outside the organization to earlier Pistons eras.

Sixers sliding toward uncertainty

For Philadelphia, Saturday’s loss was another reminder of a volatile season defined by high ceilings and alarming lows.

The Sixers, who acquired George to flank Embiid and Maxey and drafted Edgecombe third overall last year, have shown stretches of explosive offense when fully intact. But Embiid has missed extended time with various injuries, and George opened this season on a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.

Philadelphia made unwanted history in early March when it became the first team to lose three games at home by at least 40 points in one season. While Saturday’s margin did not reach that level, the offensive stagnation — just 33 points after halftime — fueled familiar concerns among fans and local media about the club’s ability to generate good shots when Embiid sits.

The 76ers are now in seventh place in the East, a half-step from falling into the play-in bracket if they cannot stabilize over the final week. Coach Nick Nurse has been criticized in some quarters for frequent rotation changes, while the team searches for reliable combinations around its three primary scorers.

Playoff picture coming into focus

The NBA’s play-in tournament is scheduled for April 14-17, with the full playoffs opening April 18. As the No. 1 seed, Detroit will host the East’s No. 8 seed in a best-of-seven first-round series at Little Caesars Arena, with Game 1 expected to fall on April 18 or 19.

The Pistons are guaranteed home-court advantage in any Eastern Conference series they play. They would not control home court in the NBA Finals if they advance; the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder currently hold the league’s best overall record.

Detroit’s opponent will emerge from a cluster of teams that, as of Saturday, includes the 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat in the 6-10 range. That means the rout in Philadelphia could be a preview of a first-round matchup if the standings hold and the 76ers come out of the play-in on the low side of the bracket.

For now, Bickerstaff said, the focus is simple.

“You take a moment and you appreciate what these guys have done,” he said. “But we understand this isn’t the finish line. We’ve just given ourselves the best opportunity we can. Now we’ve got to go earn it.”