Sixers-Pistons takeaways: Joel Embiid dominates, Buddy Hield finds his rhythm and more

Joel Embiid was steady.

Buddy Hield had a shooting performance to build on. And the 76ers were on cruise control for 2½ quarters.

Those three things stood out in Tuesday’s 120-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons at the Wells Fargo Center.

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Embiid finished with a game high 37 points along with 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and two blocks. It was his second consecutive game with scoring at least 30 points. It also marked the 20th time in his 38 games this season he recorded 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

On Tuesday, he logged 35 minutes, 49 seconds, the most in his four games back after being sidelined for two months.

“It was OK,” Embiid said of how he felt. “The third quarter, I was starting to feel it. They made that run, and I just told myself, ‘This is the moment to push it.’ Perfect timing, game tight, coming back we were only up three or four at that time. So that was the perfect time to push it.”

With the Sixers clinging to a 71-70 cushion with 7 minutes, 6 seconds left in third quarter, Embiid scored consecutive baskets to give them a 75-70 advantage to jump-start what turned out to be a blowout victory.

But on this night, the reigning MVP was balanced in regards to his scoring.

Embiid scored 10 points in the first and second quarters each. Then the seven-time All-Star notched eight points in the third quarter. And he added nine in the fourth quarter.

He had a workmanlike approach to the game while shooting 12-for-22 and making 9-of-10 shots from the foul line.

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“That’s what I told him during the game,” Nico Batum said of Embiid being steady. “I was like, ’I don’t really care about your numbers.’ I was like, ‘You look great,’ the way he moves. I think the first three games he played, he was trying to get back in shape, but still got his mental back, especially for his knee. But the way he moved today, you could see him doing back-to-back Euro-steps like he’s been doing the first three months.

“I think I was more impressed about that today … The way he moved, that was good for the future.”

Hield hasn’t lived up to his lofty expectations as of late. However, he was solid against the Pistons (13-66). The reserve shooting guard scored 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting — including hitting 5-of-9 on three-pointers.

This comes after Hield shot 25.8% — including making just 4-of-18 threes — in his last four games. His five three-pointers Tuesday are tied the most he has made as a Sixer. Hield had five against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 12. He also made five two nights later vs. the Miami Heat.

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“You know, just waiting patiently,” Hield said of his performance. “That’s basically been my calling since I’ve been here, just waiting for everything to develop. I know that things will always work out. The ball came to me in rhythm and I was able to [make shots]. The Memphis game it came in rhythm and I didn’t make none. I missed so many. But other than that, it was good.”

Hield had seven points on just 3-of-12 shooting against the Grizzlies on Saturday, including missing six-of-seven three-pointers. But on this night, the eighth-year veteran showed that he can be valuable piece.

“It was good to see, good to see,” Nick Nurse said. “It felt like he was going to make them tonight when the ball hit hands.”

The first game after returning from a West Coast trip is often a poor performance. Teams are usually sluggish from having to travel across the country, and are vulnerable to be beat.

The Sixers, meanwhile, looked like a squad going through the motions two days after concluding a three-game trip with a double-overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Texas.

That’s what enabled the Pistons to pull within one point midway through the third quarter.

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“We played a little dangerous game,” Batum said. “But you know, guys like myself are a little bit tired from the last trip. And guys can step up. Obviously, Joel was huge tonight. It was good to see him that way.”

The forward noted that Hield got his shot back and Tobias Harris played well after missing the past three games with a bruised left knee.

“A lot of guys that didn’t play a bunch last game or didn’t play a lot, stepped up tonight,” Batum said. “I’m kind of happy, actually, they didn’t [need] me today to do my stuff. That’s a good team win. We showed some stuff and Joel looks great. It was good.”