DETROIT _ Brett Brown talked like the 76ers were going to be tested.
The coach mentioned how Wednesday's contest was an elimination game for the Detroit Pistons. With that, he said that his squad was going to be tested by a team battling for their playoff lives.
Brown said it was going to be a playoff-type game.
He was only right about one thing: The Pistons were officially eliminated from the postseason at the hands of the Sixers, who took a 115-108 victory at Little Caesars Arena.
Not only did the Sixers (48-30) beat the Pistons (37-41), they dominated for the first three quarters. The Sixers scored at ease, shooting 49.4 percent from the field. They also harassed the Pistons forcing 13 first-half turnovers and 17 overall.
In the process, the Sixers extended their winning streak to 12 games. It's the first time they won 12 straight games since doing it from Jan. 13 to Feb. 5, 1990.
JJ Redick tormented the Pistons. The Sixers shooting guard had 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting. He made 5 of 7 3-pointers. He also had six assists, one shy of the season high he set against the Pistons on Dec. 2.
He also established a new career-best streak of six consecutive games with at least 19 points. And this was his sixth time he scored at least 25 points this season, marking his first since Dec. 12.
Reserve guard Marco Belinelli had 19 points. Ben Simmons finished with 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Ersan Ilyasova had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Robert Covington (12 points) and reserve Richaun Holmes (11 points) were the Sixers' other double-digit scorers, Amir Johnson had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Center Andre Drummond had 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons.
The Sixers, who beat the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, were sluggish early, missing five of their first seven shots. However, they woke up and went on to take a 36-28 advantage after one quarter thanks to Redick. He scored 13 of his points on 5-for-6 shooting in the quarter. The 33-year-old was 3-for-4 on three-pointers.
With Redick leading the way, the Sixers opened up a 19-point cushion in the second quarter. The Pistons pulled within five points (112-107) on Reggie Bullock's 3-pointer with 21.4 seconds left.
The Sixers were once again without Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.
Embiid, an all-star center, missed his fourth consecutive game after fracturing the orbital bone near his left eye and suffering a concussion last Wednesday against the New York Knicks. Saric missed his third with cellulitis, a bacterial infection, in his right elbow. The Sixers hope he returns on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
