National Basketball Association
Detroit 111, Philadelphia 91
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Where: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Officials: #34 Kevin Cutler, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #29 Mark Lindsay
Attendance: 13429

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Pistons' newest starter and their forgotten man were instrumental in a blowout victory over the hapless Philadelphia 76ers.

Tobias Harris had 22 points and eight rebounds, and the Pistons handed Philadelphia its sixth consecutive loss in a 111-91 victory on Wednesday night at The Palace.

The power forward is averaging 18.3 points in four games since being acquired from Orlando last week.

"He looks great. He's doing all the things we need him to do," Detroit center Andre Drummond said. "When he first came here, I told him, 'Don't hesitate. You're not here to play slow. We want you to run and we want you to try to score the ball when you touch it.'"

The Pistons (29-29) had six players in double figures while winning their second straight after a season-high five-game losing streak.

They even got a career night from little-used small forward Reggie Bullock. Though he's been on the roster all season, Bullock had scored a total of six points entering the game. Given a chance to play because of injuries, he broke through with a career-high 16 points.

The Pistons played without their two top reserve forwards, rookie Stanley Johnson (sprained right shoulder) and Anthony Tolliver (sprained right knee).

"It was great to see the ball go in for him," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Our guys, if you go through everything they liked tonight, that would probably be at the top of their list. They're really happy for him."

Point guard Reggie Jackson contributed 17 points and five assists, while Drummond notched his league-high 49th double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Drummond also spearheaded a defensive effort that held the Sixers to 39.8 percent shooting.

"He's put a lot on me to be the anchor for the defense," Drummond said of Van Gundy.

Small forward Marcus Morris supplied 13 points and a career-high eight assists. Van Gundy likes how Harris and Morris have meshed.

"Those guys are already developing a nice chemistry together," he said. "They enjoy playing together. They pass the ball to each other and Marcus definitely takes pride in making the right play and getting the ball to people."

Swingman Hollis Thompson scored 19 points for the Sixers (8-49), who have lost 10 of their last 11 games. Power forward Jahlil Okafor added 13 points and point guard Kendall Marshall tossed in a season-high 12 for Philadelphia, which lost to Orlando 124-115 on Tuesday.

"We're seeing teams who are fighting for their lives to get into the playoffs," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. "If you look at their roster, they have a heck of a team. We're getting 'A' games now. They hit us hard at the start and we dug ourselves far too deep of a hole."

The highly-touted frontcourt duo of Okafor and Nerlens Noel secured just six rebounds and offered little resistance defensively.

"I'm always looking at our bigs' rebounding," Brown said. "We pay attention to their plus-minus, trying to grow those two guys together and challenge them. It's not to the level that they want or I want. Rebounding is something that we're always on them to help carry us. In many ways, we'll go as they go and at the start, we struggled."

Detroit took control early and stormed to a 65-42 halftime lead. Harris made all seven of his shots from the field while scoring 17 points.

A Harris foul shot midway through the third quarter gave Detroit a 30-point lead at 76-46. Things were going so well for the Pistons that Drummond, the league's worst free throw shooter, drained two foul shots to close out the third quarter to make it 85-59.

NOTES: PF Justin Harper, who signed to a 10-day contract earlier in the day, was in uniform for Detroit. Harper, who was playing with the NBA Development League's Los Angeles D-Fenders, had not appeared in a regular-season game since a 14-game stint with Orlando during the 2011-12 season. "In these kinds of situations, we're looking for somebody who can step in and play right away," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said of Harper, who played on Detroit's summer-league team. ... Sixers PG T.J. McConnell (right ankle sprain) missed the game. He was the only Philadelphia player who appeared in its previous 56 games. ... PG Ish Smith has 10 career 20-point games, all but one with the Sixers. ... Philadelphia has used 28 starting lineups, none more than nine games. ... Detroit won the first two meetings. The teams play once more in Philadelphia on March 12. ... The Pistons play seven of their next nine games on the road.
Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Detroit
Hollis Thompson 19 Scoring Tobias Harris 22
Kendall Marshall 4 Assists Marcus Morris 8
Richaun Holmes 7 Rebounds Andre Drummond 18
Jerami Grant 5 Free Throws Made Reggie Jackson 6
Ish Smith 4 Steals Marcus Morris 3
Nerlens Noel 3 Blocks Andre Drummond 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Philadelphia 91 39.8 7-23 18-26 18 40 4 8 15
Detroit 111 47.0 11-28 22-34 22 50 1 10 16
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game on the road against Milwaukee. The Pistons have a W/L % of .517 after a win and .483 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Washington. The 76ers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .163 after a loss.