PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – A pair of teams going in the wrong direction meet Friday night when the Detroit Pistons complete a three-game road trip in Philadelphia. The Pistons have dropped six in a row and eight of their last nine following a 112-91 setback at Toronto on Wednesday, their fourth consecutive road defeat. Rodney Stuckey returned from a three-game layoff to score 14 points off the bench and Brandon Jennings led the way with 22 but Detroit gave up over 100 points for the eighth time in 10 games.
Since surprising many with a four-game road winning streak punctuated by a victory at Portland, the 76ers have fallen apart in two straight embarrassing losses. They returned home from the road trip to fall by 31 points to Minnesota before suffering a 111-93 loss at Cleveland in a game that wasn't nearly that close. Thaddeus Young, who had scored at least 20 points in seven of his last eight games, was held scoreless on 0-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes.
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TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit (Detroit), CSN Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (14-22): Detroit will remain on the outside looking in in the Eastern Conference playoff picture as long as it continues to fall apart in the second half of games. Maurice Cheeks' team has been outscored after halftime in each of its six straight losses, losing those 24 minutes by a whopping average of 14.3 points.
"We play phenomenal in the first half, but the second half comes around, we just stop playing basketball, stop sharing the ball, stop helping each other," Stuckey told reporters after the team was outscored 56-37 following the break in Toronto.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (12-23): Philadelphia gives up an NBA-high 10.3 3-pointers per game at a 37.3 percent clip - the fourth-highest mark in the league - after Minnesota and Cleveland combined to make 29-of-54 from beyond the arc. The Pistons are last in the league by a wide margin with a 31.3 percent showing from long range, making this a satisfactory matchup for the Sixers on paper. However, Detroit made all six of its 3-point tries in the first quarter en route to a 115-100 victory in the first matchup between the teams Dec. 1.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Detroit is 7-4 on the road against Eastern Conference opponents.
2. Sixers G James Anderson is averaging 14.5 points, six rebounds and three steals in a reserve role over his last two games.
3. Pistons C Andre Drummond had career highs in points (31) and steals (six) in the win over Philadelphia last month.