Iguodala leads 76ers past Pistons 95-74
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Andre Iguodala recorded the eighth triple-double of his career with 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers won their second straight game with a 95-74 victory over the struggling Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
Iguodala, who turned 28 on Saturday, received a nice ovation from the crowd when he secured his triple-double with a defensive rebound with 7:34 remaining.
Lou Williams scored 17 points, Elton Brand added 14 and Jrue Holiday had 13 for the Sixers, who improved to 14-6 and 10-2 at home. They are 3-1 on this seven-game homestand, which gets markedly tougher next week with visits from the Orlando Magic on Monday, Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and Miami Heat on Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Sixers have been a strong second-half team this season, and this game was no different. They came out of halftime with a quick 8-2 run — highlighted by 3-pointers from Iguodala and Jodie Meeks — and extended their lead to 50-33.
Detroit never got closer than nine the rest of the game.
The Pistons received a boost with the return of forward Tayshaun Prince, who had missed the previous two games tending to a family matter. Prince finished with just six points. The short-handed Pistons were still without injured guards Will Bynum and Ben Gordon, as well as forward Charlie Villanueva.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The missing pieces were noticeable as the Pistons struggled mightily on offense in the first half with 31 points, their second-fewest in any half this season. Maybe it was a carryover from Friday's 107-101 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks in which the Pistons relinquished a six-point lead in the final 54 seconds of regulation.
One night later, they trailed Philadelphia 42-31 at halftime.
Detroit wasn't much sharper in the second half and fell to 4-17 with four straight losses and eight of nine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Greg Monroe led the Pistons with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Austin Daye added 12 points.
Notes: Sixers C Spencer Hawes missed his sixth consecutive game with a strained left Achilles, while rookie F Nikola Vucevic was out for the fourth straight game with a left knee quad strain. ... Monroe was whistled for a technical foul with 1:08 left in the first half. ... The Sixers were 9 for 15 from 3-point territory. ... Sixers coach Doug Collins, on his bobblehead promotion Saturday night: "I like the gray hair. It has wisdom written all over it."