Covington leads balanced attack as 76ers top Pistons
AUBURN HILLS, MICH. -- T.J. McConnell was one assist shy of a triple-double in his first start of the season and Robert Covington led five players in double-figures to help lead Philadelphia to a 97-79 win at Detroit on Sunday.
Starting in place of Sergio Rodriguez, McConnell had 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the 76ers, who won back-to-back games for only the second time this season following a win at New Orleans on Thursday.
Covington had 16 points and seven rebounds, Ersan Ilyasova had 15 points and eight rebounds, Jahlil Okafor had 13 points and nine rebounds and Nik Stauskas added 10 points for the 76ers (6-18).
Marcus Morris scored a game-high 28 points in defeat for the Pistons (13-13).
The 76ers jumped out all over the Pistons to start the game, grabbing an 18-4 lead with 6:17 left in the first quarter and then taking a 44-21 lead with 6:26 remaining in the second quarter.
Philadelphia built its lead in the first half to as many as 25 points at 56-31 with 1:46 left until it took a 58-35 lead into halftime.
The 76ers did very little wrong in the first half, shooting 61.5 percent from the field (24 of 39) and collecting 19 assists.
The Pistons cut the Philadelphia lead to eight points at 87-79 with 4:25 remaining on a 3-pointer by Morris, which capped off an 11-0 run.
It was the first time the Pistons were within single-digits since it was 13-4 with 6:58 left in the first quarter.
But Philadelphia responded by ending the game with a 10-0 run.
NOTES: Philadelphia welcomed back one of its centers to the lineup while seeing another sit out. Nerlens Noel returned to action after missing the first 23 games of the season with groin and left knee injuries. However, the 76ers played without center Joel Embiid, who missed the game with minor inflammation in his right elbow. ... The Pistons were without starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who missed the game with a knee contusion suffered during Friday's win at Minnesota. He is expected to miss only one game. ... This was the first game for the Pistons since the team sent second-year forward Stanley Johnson and rookies Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinjie to their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Saturday. All three players were recalled for Sunday's game. ... Following a three-game road trip, the 76ers will prepare for a four-game homestand over a span of seven days, starting on Wednesday against Toronto. ... Detroit will hit the road for its next two games with contests at Dallas on Wednesday and at Washington on Friday before hosting Indiana on Saturday.