Cade Cunningham had 26 points and 11 assists to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 111-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, while Tyrese Maxey scored a three-pointer to tie the game at the buzzer.
Jalen Duren combined for 26 points with 11 rebounds and Duncan Robinson added 17 points as Detroit extended its winning streak to six and improved to 8-2, its best start to a season since 2005-06.
Maxey scored 33 points for the Sixers and Andre Drummond added 17 points and 12 rebounds, starting for the first time this season in the absence of Joel Embiid (left knee management).
Cunningham’s huge jam on Drummond — which ended in a three-point play after an Oubre foul in the act — put Detroit up 109-104 in the final two minutes of the fourth.
Maxey responded with a dunk on Cunningham, after picking his counterpart’s pocket, then added two more free throws to cut the Pistons’ advantage to 109-108 with 31.4 seconds left.
Cunningham’s turnover made it 111-108 with 16.9 seconds left, before the final play saw Maxey nearly lose possession, regain, then narrowly miss from deep.
The Pistons led 37-32 at the end of the first quarter, which ended with successive 3-pointers from Caris LeVert.
Detroit led 31-23, before the Pistons struggled in the second half, coughing up nine turnovers that cost them 13 points.
Philadelphia increased the defensive pressure and started the quarter with a 10-2 burst to take the lead on Jabari Walker’s three, which came following another Detroit cough.
Maxey and Walker had eight points each for the quarter, which the 76ers outscored 32-17 to take a 64-54 halftime advantage.
Drummond led an 11-0 run for the Sixers in the third, making the score 79-66, before Cunningham inspired a 10-0 response for the Pistons.
Held to just two points on 1-of-9 shooting in the first half, Cunningham scored 17 points in the third quarter, including 6 of 8 from the foul line, as Detroit took an 88-85 lead on Paul Reed’s reverse jam with a quarter to play.
Maxey scored 15 points in the fourth and gave Philadelphia the lead twice with 3-point bombs, but he couldn’t bury the one that mattered most.
–Field level media
