Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Greg Monroe had 19 points and 18 rebounds
as the Detroit Pistons ended their season-opening eight-game losing streak in
convincing fashion, rolling to a 94-76 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers at the
Wells Fargo Center.
The Pistons used a combination of balanced scoring, suffocating defense and
dominance on the glass to record their long-awaited first win of the 2012-13
campaign.
Kyle Singler scored a career-high 16 points in his first NBA start and
Tayshaun Prince and Brandon Knight each chipped in 15 points for Detroit,
which finished with a 57-38 rebounding advantage and netted 42 points in the
paint.
The 76ers, meanwhile, shot a woeful 29.8 percent from the floor and continued
to struggle on their home court. Philadelphia fell to 1-3 at the Wells Fargo
Center this season and is just 7-14 in its last 21 regular-season outings as
the host.
"It's one of the few times since I've been as coach where this team played
with a lack of effort," stated 76ers head coach Doug Collins. "Playing against
a team that's desperate, 0-8, I told them this team is a lot better than their
record. I thought we were in slow-motion."
Lavoy Allen scored 14 points for the Sixers, who were coming off a 105-96 home
setback to Milwaukee on Monday, while Jrue Holiday totaled 12 points and seven
assists.
Detroit started out slowly and trailed 13-8 after seven minutes of play, but
closed out the first quarter with a 15-4 run to forge ahead and manhandled the
cold-shooting Sixers in the second to build a commanding 52-34 lead at
halftime.
Philadelphia closed within 31-26 on a short Allen jumper with just under seven
minutes left in the half, but Detroit answered with a 10-2 flurry shortly
afterward to increase its margin to double digits. After Allen made a pair of
free throws to cut the deficit to 41-30 with 3:20 remaining, the Pistons
finished the period with an 11-4 spurt in which Singler dropped in six points
to take an 18-point cushion into the break.
Starting in place of an ailing Rodney Stuckey, Singler had 13 points prior to
intermission, one more than the rookie's career best of 12 set last Wednesday
at Sacramento.
Philadelphia's shooting problems didn't subside in the second half, though it
did manage to get as close as 11 points down when Dorell Wright drained a
basket from beyond the arc to pull within 57-46 midway through the third
quarter.
The Sixers were down 67-54 late in the third when Detroit began to pull away
by scoring nine of the next 10 points. The lead eventually would grow to as
many as 23 when Knight sank a 3-pointer to make the score 86-63 with 5:04 left
to play.
GAME NOTES:
Detroit also halted an eight-game road losing streak dating back to last
season, with the team's last win as the visitor a 109-85 decision at Charlotte
on Apr. 12 ... Stuckey missed the game because of flu-like symptoms ... Corey
Maggette made his season debut for Detroit and netted nine points in nearly 22
minutes before fouling out late in the game. The veteran had been sidelined by
a strained calf ... Kwame Brown (calf) returned to Philadelphia's lineup after
missing four straight games and had three points in 12 minutes ... The Sixers
fell despite committing just four turnovers and forcing the Pistons into 18
giveaways.
The Sports Network