Cade Scores 26, Pistons Stay 3–0 Without Duren — Sixers Lose the Glass and the Game
GOATIFYThe Detroit Pistons walked into Philadelphia without two starters and left with the cleanest possible answer to an early-season question: is their identity strong enough to survive a bad injury week? Their 106–93 win over the 76ers on October 25 pushed Detroit to 3–0 and handed a star-studded Philadelphia lineup its first defeat. Cade Cunningham supplied 26 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but the score was built on more than one guard's shot-making.
Detroit opened 15–1, won the battle for second chances and kept responding whenever the Sixers threatened to turn another deficit into a comeback. Philadelphia had LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown available, yet could not lead for a single possession. The bigger story is how a depleted Pistons rotation controlled the parts of the game that star power cannot automatically fix.
Detroit's 15–1 opening burst made Philadelphia chase the game
The Pistons did not win by waiting for Philadelphia's offense to settle. They attacked before it could find any rhythm. A 15–1 burst inside the first four minutes forced the home team to spend the evening chasing a game it had expected to control. Cunningham scored 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first quarter, and Detroit carried a 34–22 advantage into the second. It was the kind of opening that changed both the scoreboard and the way the teams had to play.
There is a tactical difference between building a lead through unusually hot shooting and building one through repeated advantages. Detroit's opening possessions put the Sixers under pressure to defend earlier in the shot clock, protect the paint and locate shooters. Cunningham was central to that sequence because he could score without abandoning his role as the offense's organizer. His final line of 26 points, eight assists and eight rebounds understates the breadth of his influence: he also registered two steals and two blocks, and Detroit was plus-20 in his minutes.
Philadelphia had already demonstrated its comeback ability earlier in the week, recovering from a 29-point deficit against Cleveland. That made the Pistons' early advantage a test of composure rather than a guarantee. The Sixers cut into the margin before halftime, with James scoring three consecutive baskets during a 9–0 closing run, but Detroit still led 56–44. The visitors had absorbed the first counterpunch without giving away control of the game.
The contrast with a typical early-season scoring shootout is important. Detroit did not need Cunningham to chase 40 points or dominate every possession. The guard could make a hard shot, draw attention and move the ball to a teammate who had earned a cleaner look. When Philadelphia later narrowed the margin, he was still able to answer with consecutive three-pointers. That blend of patience and timely aggression is more repeatable than a single spectacular scoring night.
Three games do not prove a championship ceiling, especially with lineups still adjusting around the league. But the opening quarter was meaningful evidence of a coherent plan. Detroit knew what it wanted before the Sixers knew how to stop it, and the Pistons' execution forced Philadelphia to play uphill for the rest of the night.
Without Duren or Thompson, Detroit still owned the second chances
The most revealing statistic was not Cunningham's point total. Detroit finished with a 54–37 advantage in credited rebounds and collected 15 offensive boards, generating 24 second-chance points. That happened while Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson were both unavailable. Duren's hamstring injury is expected to keep him out for at least two weeks, while Thompson missed the Philadelphia game with an ankle issue. For a team whose physicality is a defining trait, those absences should have created a clear vulnerability.
Instead, John Collins supplied 16 points and 11 rebounds, giving Detroit a stabilizing interior presence. The box score does not capture every box-out or rotation, but the collective result was unmistakable: missed shots frequently became another Pistons possession. Philadelphia's inability to finish defensive stands helped turn stretches of otherwise respectable defense into empty effort. One stop is not enough when the opponent gets another chance to score.
That is why the second-chance number matters more than the raw rebounding margin alone. Twenty-four points from recovered possessions can neutralize a hot shooting stretch or rescue an offense during a quiet spell. Detroit did not have to be flawless in the half court because its work on the glass reduced the penalty for misses. A club that can create that cushion without its starting center has a useful foundation for the weeks ahead.
The Sixers have an obvious qualification: Joel Embiid was also absent, sitting out the second night of a back-to-back, and VJ Edgecombe was unavailable with an abdominal injury. Philadelphia was not operating with its preferred frontcourt or full rotation. That context prevents the result from becoming a sweeping verdict on either team's best lineup. Yet both clubs were shorthanded, and only one consistently turned the missing pieces into an opportunity for the rest of its roster.
Detroit's depth is not simply about interchangeable names. It is about maintaining the same habits when the names change: contest without losing rebounding position, rotate toward the paint and turn a missed shot into another offensive action. Collins' double-double gave those habits a visible face. The larger achievement was that the Pistons kept their identity intact even when the two players most associated with their physical edge were watching.
Robinson and Jenkins delivered the shots that stopped the comeback
The Sixers made the fourth quarter uncomfortable. They entered it down 79–69, scored the first six points and cut the deficit to 79–75 on a difficult Tyrese Maxey fadeaway. For a moment, the game appeared to be following the familiar script of a star-heavy home team finding its offense late. Detroit's response showed why its 3–0 start is not entirely dependent on Cunningham producing a personal highlight reel.
Duncan Robinson hit a three-pointer immediately after Philadelphia drew within four. He added another basket to rebuild a double-digit cushion with 7:38 remaining, then struck from deep again with 5:57 left. Those were not decorative points added to an already settled game. Each shot interrupted the Sixers' best momentum and made them rebuild the same comeback from scratch. Robinson finished with 21 points and five made threes, providing exactly the spacing Detroit needed around Cunningham.
Daniss Jenkins brought a different kind of support. His 18 points mattered throughout the night, but the late three-pointer with 1:03 remaining effectively removed the last realistic opening for Philadelphia. Jenkins' contribution is easy to miss beside the bigger names, which is precisely why it matters. Opponents can send extra attention toward Cunningham only if they are prepared to live with the consequences when other Pistons are left open.
The sequence also exposed the difference between a comeback and a complete turnaround. Philadelphia created pressure and forced Detroit to execute, but the visitors never lost the lead. A team that answers a run with a clean possession changes the emotional temperature of the game. Instead of allowing the arena to grow louder and the margin to disappear, Detroit repeatedly made the Sixers solve another problem.
Robinson's shooting is a particularly useful ingredient for a roster built around a big lead guard and physical frontcourt play. It stretches defensive help away from the lane and gives Cunningham a straightforward outlet when the paint becomes crowded. Jenkins adds another perimeter option. Neither role should be exaggerated into a claim that Detroit has solved every offensive issue, but both were decisive in this particular win.
Maxey fought back, but Philadelphia could not repair its first-half damage
Tyrese Maxey did what a lead scorer is supposed to do when a game begins slipping away. He finished with 29 points, 18 of them in the fourth quarter, and repeatedly challenged Detroit's defense when Philadelphia needed urgency. James contributed 18 points and helped spark the run before halftime. Their effort made the result competitive for stretches, but it could not erase the first-quarter deficit or the repeated losses on the defensive glass.
Jaylen Brown's 16 points came on 5-for-20 shooting. That inefficiency was costly because Philadelphia needed more than one reliable source of offense once the Pistons had established their lead. A team can survive one star's difficult night when its defensive possessions end cleanly and its supporting cast produces efficient chances. Here, the rebounding disadvantage meant even a good defensive sequence could end with Detroit retaining the ball.
The absence of Embiid and Edgecombe is a real limitation on what can be concluded from one October result. Embiid's size and scoring threat change both ends of the floor; Edgecombe adds another piece to the rotation. Their return could alter the rebounding balance and the spacing around James and Maxey. But injuries and rest are ordinary conditions of an NBA season, not exceptions a contender can simply ignore. Philadelphia must find workable lineups for the nights when its ideal five are unavailable.
The 76ers had entered this game 3–0, and their earlier comeback against Cleveland was evidence of resilience. Sunday's defeat does not cancel that progress. It does, however, expose a different challenge: the ability to begin with discipline rather than depend on extraordinary late scoring. Philadelphia never led, even with three headline names on the floor. Maxey's surge reduced the damage, but the deficit was created before he had a chance to rescue it.
Both teams now face a useful immediate test. Detroit visits the defending champion Knicks on Tuesday, October 27, with Duren's absence still a concern. Philadelphia travels to Indiana on Wednesday, October 28, needing a more complete forty-eight minutes. The Pistons can take confidence from how they won without two starters; the Sixers need to find a way to keep an uneven start from deciding a game before their stars take over.
Detroit's 106–93 win will be remembered as another strong Cade Cunningham night, but that shorthand misses the reason it was convincing. The Pistons seized control early, survived the missing frontcourt pieces, manufactured extra possessions and got timely fourth-quarter answers from Robinson and Jenkins. Cunningham was the center of the system, not its only functioning part.
Philadelphia has more than enough talent to respond, especially once its unavailable players return. What Sunday exposed is the gap between having elite individual options and consistently winning the possession battle. At 3–0, Detroit has offered a practical early definition of a contender's identity: when the rotation changes and the opponent pushes back, the habits still hold.
