After a 3-0 start, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered their first loss of the season, bowing to the Detroit Pistons, 106-93, at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday.

The 76ers played without Joel Embiid, who was rested for injury management, and VJ Edgecombe, who was dealing with an abdominal contusion.

Adem Bona played quality minutes off the bench in the absence of Embiid. Bona tallied six points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks in 25 minutes. Coach Nick Nurse was satisfied with how the third-year center performed, as reported by PhillyVoice's Adam Aaronson.

“I was really happy with him. I thought he was—that's kind of the first game he's impacted, right? I was really happy with the way he played,” said Nurse.

Bona entered the game averaging just 11.0 minutes.

Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 29 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. LeBron James added 18 points, five assists, and two steals, while Jaylen Brown had 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Last season, the 23-year-old Bona showed that he can produce if given ample minutes, filling in for Embiid in multiple games.

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Embiid was held out for the first time this season, as it was the second game of Philadelphia's back-to-back schedule. The former MVP said he wanted to play against the Pistons after coming off a triple-double showing of 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

“I actually want to play tomorrow, so can you guys (reporters) put pressure on them (76ers). I want to play tomorrow, so start writing articles and put pressure on them so they'll let me play,” said Embiid, as quoted by ESPN's Kris Rhim.

He is expected to suit up against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.