3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following home loss to Pistons

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Detroit Pistons 116-93 on Saturday as they were swept in the 4-game season series. The Sixers trailed by as many as 26 and only led by two in this game as the Pistons handled business and clinched the No. 1 seed in the East heading into the playoffs.

The Sixers received 20 points and five rebounds from Paul George while Tyrese Maxey had 23 points and VJ Edgecombe had 19 points and six rebounds. Adem Bona added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. Here are the three biggest takeaways following the loss to the Pistons: Poor defense in the first half It was an overall tough defensive night for the Sixers, but the Pistons dissected them a lot in the first half.

Detroit is not a great 3-point shooting team and it relies a lot on cutting and moving without the basketball to set up its offense. Detroit was able to get some easy buckets led by Ausar Thompson on the baseline while Daniss Jenkins drove the paint and found Jalen Duren for easy lobs for dunks. Then, Tobias Harris was able to get going on the offensive end as he led Detroit with 19 points on the night.

The Pistons scored 71 points in the first half and shot 61. 4% from the floor and 6-for-13 from deep. "We did a really, really poor job of handling their cutting," coach Nick Nurse explained.