Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers stated the obvious after his team’s loss on Friday: His team is much better when Joel Embiid is in the lineup.
The Sixers’ 11-game home winning streak was snapped with Embiid out for the second consecutive game with a sore left foot.
Philadelphia will try to bounce back from that 126-112 loss to Chicago when it visits Detroit on Sunday afternoon.
Embiid has missed 10 games due to a variety of ailments and illnesses this season. The Sixers are hopeful he won’t add to that total on Sunday. Philadelphia has a 6-4 record without Embiid this season.
Philadelphia had won three straight and 11 of its last 13 prior to Friday. One big positive is that guard Tyrese Maxey appears to be rounding into form. Maxey had a team-high 26 points in his fourth game back from a fractured left foot.
That follows a steady progression. He had nine points in his first game back, 12 in the second and 17 in the third.
James Harden struggled at the offensive end on Friday, going 4-for-17 from the field.
Philadelphia only committed seven turnovers but lacked defensive intensity. The Bulls shot 57.1 percent from the field and racked up 74 points during the second and third quarters.
The game on Sunday is actually the front end of a home-and-home set. The Sixers will host the Pistons on Tuesday.
In their first meeting this season, Philadelphia cruised to a 113-93 victory on Dec. 21. Embiid had a team-high 22 points and the Pistons were held to 39.2 percent shooting.
Detroit has been in a win-one, lose-one rut over the past 10 days. The Pistons have followed up a victory with a loss three consecutive times.
The Pistons surprised Golden State 122-119 on Saddiq Bey’s last-second 3-pointer on Wednesday, then fell to San Antonio 121-109 on Friday.
Defense was the issue for Detroit as the Spurs shot 55.7 percent from the field.
Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with 21 points and Ivey had 20.
Following the back-to-back with the Sixers, the Pistons will open a five-game homestand.
