Pistons-76ers Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Nov 13 2012 7:17PM

The Detroit Pistons nearly broke through against one of the league's best teams before coming up short again their last time out.

While frustrations are starting to take their toll, Detroit is doing its best to stay positive.

The visiting Pistons look to snap their worst start in franchise history Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Detroit (0-8) saw its woes continue Monday with a 92-90 loss to Oklahoma City. The Pistons, who limited the Thunder to a season-low 37.0 percent shooting, led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter but were outscored 30-17 in the fourth.

"The thing I liked is our guys, when you went in that locker room, very, very disappointed," coach Lawrence Frank told the team's official website. "Laid it all out there, felt like we could have won the game - should have won the game - and you hate where you kick a game. Just to see how much that loss hurt ... it should, and then we had a really good day of practice and you move forward."

The Pistons have played six games on the road, where they've gone 16-64 since the start of 2010-11 to post the league's second-worst winning percentage (.200).

"Now we go back on the road," Tayshaun Prince said. "I don't know who did the schedule for us. It's going to be tough, but this is what we've got to look forward to."

Despite Detroit's struggles, 76ers coach Doug Collins isn't expecting anything to come easily Wednesday.

"First of all, they've played well enough to win some games. They've had their hearts broken," said Collins, who spent three years of his coaching career with Detroit from 1995-98. "You know that the capability is there ... they've been knocking on the door.

"It, to me, is a will to win game. Go out and impose your will, they're coming in our building. We've got to play better at home. ... We've gotta be more focused."

The 76ers (4-3) beat visiting Denver 84-75 in their season opener but have since been outscored by an average of 15.5 points in back-to-back home losses.

Jrue Holiday had 25 points Monday while Jason Richardson (sore ankle) returned from a four-game absence to score 20, but Philadelphia was limited to 13 points during the fourth quarter of a 105-96 home defeat to Milwaukee.

The Bucks shot 51.3 percent, had a 48-31 rebounding advantage and outscored the 76ers 42-24 in the paint.

After learning All-Star center Andrew Bynum will miss at least five more weeks, Philadelphia is hoping to see its frontcourt pick up the pace. Lavoy Allen, who's made six starts at center, is posting 4.4 points and 3.1 boards per game and shooting 36.8 percent. Reserve Spencer Hawes hasn't been much better, averaging 9.0 and 7.4.

"We've got to get more consistent, better games from Spencer and Lavoy," Collins said. "This is not pointing fingers or whatever, in this game you have to have production from your bigs."

Holiday also needs to take better care of the basketball. The fourth-year point guard committed a career-high eight turnovers against the Bucks and is averaging a league-worst 6.0.

"I think I'm trying to make something happen," said Holiday, who leads the team with 19.1 points and 9.0 assists per contest. "Sometimes you just have to be patient. I'm learning, I'm watching film every day and trying to learn from my mistakes."

The 76ers had won three straight in this series by an average of 24.3 points before falling 108-86 at Detroit on April 26. The Pistons have dropped three of four in Philadelphia.

Winless no more, Pistons romp past 76ers 94-76

By DAN GELSTON
Posted Nov 14 2012 10:48PM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Winless no more, the Detroit Pistons had good reason to break out the cheers in a locker room celebration.

The worst start in franchise history was over.

Greg Monroe had 19 points, 18 rebounds and six assists to help the Pistons beat the Philadelphia 76ers 94-76 on Wednesday night.

Kyle Singler scored 16 points in his first start of the season, and Tayshaun Prince and Brandon Knight each scored 15 points for the Pistons, who improved to a still-woeful 1-8. But they will take it.

"We're disappointed in our start, but it wasn't like we had any doubt we were going to win a game," coach Lawrence Frank said. "When we deserve to win, we'll win."

Gobbling rebounds with each Sixers miss, the Pistons deserved this one. Playing their seventh road game out of nine games this season, the Pistons controlled the lethargic Sixers from the opening tip. Four Pistons starters scored in double digits and forward Jason Maxiell had eight points and 12 rebounds.

"We felt like, as a team, this was long overdue," Monroe said.

The Pistons played so well they didn't even need both eyes on the ball from the free-throw line. Late in the second quarter, Monroe was fouled on a drive down the lane and had a contact shuffled around in the process. He touched his right eye, squinted, and buried the first shot. With his contact back in place, he clanked the second attempt. The moment was good for a chuckle in a game that turned into a laugher.

"My contact was just acting a little funny," Monroe said, laughing.

Monroe had a small shiner but blamed a hit from Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant in Monday's game.

The Sixers easily played their worst game of the season, making only 25 of 84 shots, for 30 percent. Lavoy Allen led them with 14 points, and Jrue Holiday had 12.

"When you see somebody beating up on you, you're supposed to hit back," Holiday said. "We didn't have that today. After a while, when we tried to, everything was going their way."

Without injured center Andrew Bynum, the Sixers continued to get dominated inside. They were outrebounded by 17 in Monday's loss to Milwaukee and got crushed on the boards 33-15 by halftime in this one. Monroe had nine at the break - or as many as the Sixers' starting lineup combined.

Philadelphia missed 30 of 43 shots in the first half and made only 5 of 10 free throws.

The few thousand fans that showed up made for a dreary preseason atmosphere and they all booed the Sixers off the court at the break.

Kwame Brown started at center after missing four games because of a strained left calf, picked up two quick fouls, and played only 8 minutes in the first half.

The Pistons had plenty of room to maneuver in the paint - Singler scored 13, Prince had 12, and Monroe added 11 points in the first half.

Detroit had most of its fun in the second quarter, stretching a two-point lead into 52-34 at the break. The Pistons made only three 3-pointers all game, scoring the bulk of their points on mid-range jumpers, and easy buckets around the basket.

The Sixers again struggled with their halfcourt offense, showing little ball movement and firing up long jumpers as the shot clock ticked down. Bynum hasn't played all season because of a bone bruise and isn't expected back until at least early January. It's clear they need help in the middle because the Brown-Spencer Hawes-Thaddeus Young combination has been a bust.

"It's not the end of the world," Hawes said. "We're going to get it right. We're going to get it back on track."

The Pistons led by as many as 23 points and had their way with the Sixers in the paint (42-28), on the fastbreak (17-11) and, most impressively, the glass, outrebounding the Sixers 57-38. The Pistons beat them 45-27 on defensive rebounds, just the kind of performance that will win a few more games.

"It shows what we're capable of doing," Frank said. "It's got to be a standard of how we play."

NOTES: 76ers F Dorell Wright briefly left the game and needed eight stitches on his chin. ... Frank started 0-16 with the New Jersey Nets in 2009 and was fired. ... The Pistons had never started worse than 0-7 before this season. ... On the plus side, the Sixers made only four turnovers. They had averaged 15.4. ... Dating to last season, the Sixers have lost seven of eight at home.

Notebook: Pistons 94, Sixers 76

Andy Jasner, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:58 PM - Updated Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:16 AM

THE FACTS: Greg Monroe scored 19 points and swept 18 rebounds while rookie Kyle Singler scored 16 points in the Detroit Pistons' 94-76 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Tayshaun Prince and Brandon Knight added 15 points apiece for the Pistons, who snapped a maddening eight-game losing streak to open the season. The Pistons were sharp from the opening tip and never let the Sixers make a run in the second half.

Lavoy Allen led the Sixers (4-4) with 14 points and Jrue Holiday scored 12 points. No other player reached double figures for Philadelphia, which dropped its third game in a row at home.

QUOTABLE: "It was definitely not the start we wanted. I'm just happy to get a win."

-- Brandon Knight

THE STAT: The Sixers shot 29.8 percent. That's the lowest field -goal percentage by the Sixers or their opponent in the building's history dating to its opening in 1996. Philadelphia's previous low was 30.1 percent against Detroit on Feb. 23, 2004.

TURNING POINT: Detroit led 69-54 after the third quarter and quickly ripped off five straight points -- a jumper by Corey Maggette on its first possession followed by a three-point play by Singler. Just like that, the Pistons extended their lead to 20.

HOT: Prince was 7-for-13 and Singler was 7-for-14. Both players knocked down some extremely difficult shots throughout the game.

NOT: Virtually the entire Sixers team. Holiday was 4-for-13, Jason Richardson was 3-for-12 and Thaddeus Young was 2-for-11. Nick Young missed seven of his nine shots while Dorell Wright and Spencer Hawes were each 1-for-5.

QUOTABLE II: "I have no answers why we were so flat. I have no idea."

-- Sixers coach Doug Collins

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Monroe had 19 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and one blocked shot in nearly 40 minutes. In addition, Prince contributed 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and one steal. Knight had 15 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

INSIDE THE ARENA: There wasn't much buzz inside the arena with an announced crowd of 11,879. When the Sixers fell behind by as many as 23 points, it was eerily quiet. Not much to cheer about from the home side.

QUOTABLE III: "It's frustrating. I think that was pretty apparent."

-- Spencer Hawes

GOOD MOVE: The Pistons started aggressively and maintained that level of intensity the entire night. They never got away from attacking the rim and hardly looked like a winless team.

BAD MOVE: When the Sixers couldn't get anything going offensively, Collins could have gone deeper into his bench just to search for a brief spark. That spark never came.

ROOKIE WATCH: Singler started for the Pistons and was very impressive with 16 points and four rebounds. Center Andre Drummond contributed six points and two rebounds, while forward Khris Middleton was scoreless in a brief 1:19 stint late in the game. For the Sixers, forward Arnett Moultrie had two points and two rebounds while guard Maalik Wayns added two points and one assist.

NOTABLE: The Pistons played without starting guard Rodney Stuckey because of flu-like symptoms. ... Drummond picked up a technical foul with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter. ... Dating to last season, the Sixers have lost seven of eight at home. ... Detroit's 0-8 start before this win was its worst start in franchise history. ... The Sixers scored a season-low 76 points and are averaging 88 points in eight games. They were second in the league in the preseason, averaging 102.7 points. ... Philadelphia committed only four turnovers. ... Monroe became the first Detroit player to have at least 19 points, 18 rebounds and six assists since Grant Hill accomplished the feat with 35 points, 18 rebounds and six assists at Dallas on April 1, 1997. ... Monroe has five double-doubles this season. ... The Sixers were outrebounded 57-38 by Detroit, two nights after being outboarded by the Bucks, 48-31.

NEXT: For the Pistons, Friday vs. Orlando, Sunday vs. Boston, Wednesday @ Orlando. For the Sixers, Friday vs. Utah, Sunday vs. Cleveland, Tuesday vs. Toronto.

• Pistons: Kravtsov, Stuckey
• 76ers: Bynum

• Pistons: Drummond
• 76ers: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #30 John Goble, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 11879
• Duration: 2:16