The Philadelphia 76ers will have another chance to send the Detroit Pistons toward a record-setting NBA losing streak.
The Sixers defeated the Pistons 129-111 Wednesday night and will complete the home-and-home matchup Friday night in Philadelphia.
Detroit suffered its franchise-record-tying 21st loss in a row on Wednesday; the NBA single-season skid mark is 26 by both the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2010-11 season and the 76ers in 2013-14.
Reigning league Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 41 points and 11 rebounds against Detroit. Embiid now will aim to lead the Sixers to their fifth consecutive win.
Embiid was 14 of 24 from the field and 12 of 12 from the free-throw line.
Tobias Harris added 21 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 17 for the Sixers, who had a 53-35 rebounding advantage.
Oubre has steadily improved since returning from a lengthy absence while recovering from being struck as a pedestrian by a vehicle accident last month. Oubre suffered a broken rib and other undisclosed injuries.
The Pistons have continued to careen in the wrong direction since starting the season 2-1.
Detroit equaled the longest losing streak in franchise history, a skid that was completed at the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of the 1980-81 season.
The Sixers hold the overall NBA mark of 28 losses in a row, which came at the end of 2014-15 season and the start of the 2015-16 season.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 33 points and Cade Cunningham added 21 for the Pistons on Wednesday.
The short-handed Pistons played without Jalen Duren, Monte Morris and Marvin Bagley III. The thin bench played a role as Detroit looked a bit tired, especially in the rebounding category.
The Pistons shot 10 of 33 from 3-point territory, struggled defensively and couldn’t stop Embiid. Unless they can fix one of these issues by Friday, the skid likely will continue.
