Sixers defeat Pistons, 110-94

It's a feat that wouldn't raise eyebrows in San Antonio, or be a big deal in Laker land, but the 76ers have reached territory that has been foreign for the longest of times.

With Friday's 110-94 win over the Detroit Pistons at the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers improved to 29-29. They are at the .500 level for the first time since Nov. 11, 2009, when they were 4-4. Considering last year's 27-win fiasco and this year's 3-13 start, the Sixers have made a serious turnaround.

"This is a great night for our team and our fans," Sixers coach Doug Collins said.

It doesn't matter that they achieved this feat against a Pistons team that is 21-39 and had seven players absent from Friday morning's shootaround for reasons that ranged from illness to missing the bus to the arena.

A year ago, the Sixers were a team of bad karma, unresponsive to Eddie Jordan during his forgettable season as coach.

Now, with Doug Collins clearly having the attention of his players, the Sixers play with aggressiveness and passion, which is showing in the standings.

No doubt Detroit was shorthanded - first in terms of players and then in coaches.

Coach John Kuester, forced to answer questions before the game about a potential player revolt, was ejected after receiving two technical fouls with three minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Kuester and his game replacement, assistant Brian Hill, refused to play the seven players who missed the shootaround. One of them, Coatesville's Richard Hamilton - who missed the bus - was inactive and hasn't played since Feb. 5 because of a groin injury.

The others who didn't play were Tracy McGrady (headache); Tayshaun Prince (who had a stomach ailment and didn't dress for the game); Ben Wallace (family matters); and Rodney Stuckey, Chris Wilcox, and Austin Daye (missed the bus).

In a way, the Pistons played heroically with only six players. They also wore down, trailing by 86-75 after three quarters, and had nothing left in the tank during the fourth quarter.

"The guys went out there and competed and left it all out there, and we're walking out with our heads high," said Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva, who scored 17 points.

Thaddeus Young led the Sixers with 24 points on 12-for-15 shooting. The Sixers were most proud that they didn't allow the circus surrounding the Pistons to affect their play.

"Whatever goes on in that locker room shouldn't dictate what we do," Young said. "I think we did a great job and didn't let what happened to them get in the way of what we wanted."

Andre Iguodala scored 21 points and had 11 assists and seven rebounds. Elton Brand added 20 points and 17 rebounds, while Jrue Holiday and Marreese Speights each scored 12.

Holiday had 10 of the Sixers' season-high 34 assists, which tied the best mark at the Wells Fargo Center.

No corks were popping for this .500 achievement. The Sixers aren't surprised by their recent success.

"A .500 record is OK, but we aspire to be better," Brand said. "We want to catch teams in front of us and keep teams behind us at bay."