Sixers vs. Pistons takeaways: Joel Embiid breaks a Wilt Chamberlain record and more
Embiid broke another record while Morris continued his torrid three-point shooting with a perfect night from downtown in a blowout win vs. Detroit.
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The 76ers are in awe of Joel Embiid’s latest milestone.
Marcus Morris is turning into a three-point sniper off the bench. And the Sixers leading the NBA in scoring differential has been a pleasant surprise for Nick Nurse. But the new coach would like to see some improvement defensively.
Those are three takeaways from Friday’s 124-92 victory over the Detroit Pistons at the Wells Fargo Center.
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid breaks a Wilt Chamberlain record as Sixers clobber Pistons, 124-92
Embiid is ‘very good’
Embiid, the reigning MVP, had game-highs of 35 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks in three quarters of action Friday. He passed Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain for the most consecutive 30-point and 10-rebound games in franchise history with nine.
Asked to put his teammate’s accomplishments in perspective, Tyrese Maxey responded with a question of his own: “Can anybody guess what I’m about to say?”
The assembled media said, “Joel Embiid is good at basketball.”
“Yep, very good at basketball,” Maxey said. “You know what, I’ll even elaborate more. ... He did a layup today, like a layup I normally do – a Eurostep high glass like touch layup.”
At that moment, Maxey looked over at Patrick Beverley and uttered, ‘He’s 7-foot-2 and did the same layup that I just did. That’s scary.”
The Sixers (17-7) appreciate what Embiid provides and, according to Maxey, don’t take it for granted.
Morris cooking for Sixers
The North Philly native’s team value is growing with each game.
On this night, the forward did his best impression of former Detroit reserve guard Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson.
Morris came in and lit up the Pistons like Johnson used to do to opponents in the 1980s. He torched Detroit for 15 points in just 15 minutes, 29 seconds of action. He shot 5-for-5 on three-pointers and 5-of-8 overall.
“I got hot, man,” Morris said. “My teammates did a great job of finding me. I’m just trying to play off them, pick my spots, and be consistent. But you know, be more efficient on the court. Make the game easy for myself and my teammates.”
Morris is shooting 18 of 28 (64.2%) on three-pointers over his last 10 games.
Scoring differential
The Sixers have a league-best plus 10.2 scoring differential. The Boston Celtics are second at plus 8.4
“I’d probably say I’m pleasantly surprised, offensively,” Nurse said. “And I’m probably a little surprised defensively. I think we have some growth areas there.”
The Pistons (2-23) shot 62.5% in the fourth quarter. They also got to the foul line during that time, making 9 of 12 free throws.
“I think we can be a better team defensively, more consistently,” Nurse said.
Detroit shot 43.2% for the game – including 4-of-21 on three-pointers.