March 13, 2026, 7:02 a.m. ET
DETROIT — The Philadelphia 76ers fell to the East-leading Detroit Pistons 131-109 on Thursday in what was a predictable loss. The Sixers invaded Little Caesars Arena missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., Adem Bona, and Andre Drummond as the Pistons went to work early and often to take care of the Sixers early.
The Sixers received 15 points from Cam Payne while Quentin Grimes had 14 points and five assists, and Dominick Barlow had 11 points and four rebounds. Justin Edwards had 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals, and MarJon Beauchamp had 17 points and six rebounds. Jabari Walker added 16 points.
Here are the three biggest takeaways following the loss:
Grimes and Edgecombe struggle
The Sixers cannot afford for Grimes or VJ Edgecombe to struggle on the offensive end if they want to win games without their main guys. On Thursday, both players struggled as they combined to shoot 1-for-13 from deep and 8-for-28 overall. Of course, the Pistons are one of the best defensive teams in the league, so they do that to a lot of teams, but Grimes and Edgecombe will need to bounce back quickly and have better nights on offense in order for the Sixers to have a chance.
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“Q was obviously getting a ton of pressure,” coach Nick Nurse said after the loss. “Every time he tried to do something, there was multiple guys in the driving lanes, etc. VJ, I thought had a lot of good looks, and he just didn’t have his jumper going tonight, but obviously we’ve seen him do that before, and come right back the next game and start knocking them down, which he will.”
Beauchamp playing well
With the Sixers missing so many key pieces, it opens up an opportunity for others to step in and produce. Two-way player Beauchamp hopped off the bench and shot 7-for-13 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds. He was terrific on both ends of the floor and the Sixers will continue to look to him in order to give him the necessary court time he needs to develop his game. That is the situation Philadelphia finds itself in.
“He played good,” Nurse said. “Obviously, it’s kind of why we went to him for most of the second half. Really came out. I thought he played aggressive and fearless out there. So, we gave him an extended run in the second half. He played good both ends, I thought, so he did a good job.”
Lack of chemistry within lineups
The Sixers are playing combinations of lineups that have not been able to play all that much together. Guys like Beauchamp, Tyrese Martin, Dalen Terry, and others were playing together in lineups for the first time. That is a lot to deal with and it’s something that the Sixers will have to get used to as time goes on. Somebody like Walker, who has been with Philadelphia all season long, has his plans on hoping to get everybody on the same page quickly.
“I think, regardless of the group, just playing faster,” said Walker. “We got a lot of young energy. Defensively, we got some guys that are active as well. So, maybe saw some things that we can take advantage of tonight, but also some things that we got to work on.”