Well-rounded effort leads Sixers to easy victory over Pistons

A blowout win? In this economy?

The Sixers welcomed Paul George back to the lineup after a three-game absence and cruised to a 111-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

George came off a strong start, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting along with eight rebounds and five assists.

Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 28 points, shooting 11-of-24 from the field and 5-of-10 from three. That’s three straight games shooting 50% from three for him. Ricky Council IV came off the bench for 17 points and KJ Martin had 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

Caleb Martin remained out with back soreness along with Joel Embiid and Kyle Lowry. Cade Cunningham was a late scratch for Detroit.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First quarter

• It wasn’t just George’s return that caused some changes to the starting line-up. Nick Nurse opted to go back to his bigger lineup with both Guerschon Yabusele and Andre Drummond, and that meant Jared McCain came off the bench tonight. It was a good start for Drummond, who caught a lob from PG and tipped in a layup a few possessions later. He unfortunately landed on Tobias Harris’s foot as he did so and immediately went down. He was helped by his team-mate back to the dressing room and was ruled out with a sprained right ankle later in the half.
• Rallying around it, the Sixers ripped off an 11-2 run. Adem Bona checked into the game and was found in the dunker spot by George for his third assist of the quarter. After hitting no one in his previous two games, Kelly Oubre Jr. pitched. his other three of the game to force a Detroit timeout.

• The younger bench players finished the quarter well when their numbers were called. Bona made a couple of fouls on Isaiah Stewart. Ricky Council IV also drew a few shooting fouls, which is one of the things he needs to get back to when he’s out there. The Sixers led by 17 after having a 23% better field goal percentage than the Pistons in the first.

Second Quarter

• The only Sixer who didn’t get off to a hot shooting start was Maxey, who opened the game 2-of-9 from the floor. McCain also struggled with aggressive double teams when he was his own. These factors slowed the offense down a bit, allowing Detroit to cut into the lead.
• George looked better out of the gate tonight than he had in many of the games before he got injured. He finished 3-of-6 shooting for eight points along with four assists. He seemed pretty comfortable bullying his way to the hoop, able to draw fouls when he wasn’t able to push himself into space. It would be nice to see them try to get him more threes off the catch – he only took one three and it was a contested pull-up.

• Detroit continued to chip away, ending the half with a 14-5 run that would have been worse for the Sixers if a Council three hadn’t jumped in in front of the rim. Council was the Sixers’ leading scorer with 13 as they went into halftime with a five-point lead.

Third Quarter

• Maxey was ready to put the first half behind him. He opened the third by making his first four shots — a pair of layups and a pair of threes. That helped the Sixers catch their breath a bit as they went on a 12-3 run with a KJ Martin put-back dunk.
• Speaking of Martin, he made for a really nice evening on both ends. On top of the usual hustle and awareness he brings to the defense, he made his first six shots from the field tonight, including a pair of threes. His teammates want him to shoot more, and this was the most he’s seemed willing to do this season. He was 2-of-3 from deep through three quarters.
• Bona had done a pretty good job so far of just being out there without making any mistakes, which isn’t easy for a rookie. But his first shift in the second half certainly did more than just that. His play was highlighted by a couple of blocks, including a Jaden Ivey runner he had to go up for. After turning their fortunes around in the third quarter, the Sixers ended this one with a 20-point lead, their largest lead of any game so far this season.

Fourth Quarter

• It was an uneven game for McCain, who hadn’t taken a shot until late in the third quarter. He got a quick five points with a free throw, mid-range and a slick layup with the left side, but Detroit was focused on getting the ball out of his hands most of the night.
• He’ll certainly want to get off to a better start, but there’s something to be said for how good Maxey has been in the second half the past two games. Tonight, 20 of his 28 came after the break. The Sixers weren’t really in danger of blowing their lead, but the shots he made were reassuring amid a slow-moving final quarter.

• It must have felt nice for two-way players Lester Quinones and Justin Edwards to see the floor in a win for once. With how bad this season has gone, they’ve seen plenty of garbage time minutes this year, though it’s usually been the Sixers on the other end of it.
• Next up for the Sixers is one of the few matchups that has been kind to them so far this season. They head to Charlotte to take on the Hornets on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM ET for their final NBA Cup game.