On Wednesday night, two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, the 7-1 Philadelphia 76ers and 6-1 Detroit Pistons, faced off. The 76ers' lone loss of the new campaign thus far came against the Pistons, so they will surely be out for revenge despite being on the road.
This contest is expected to be a physical one between two defensive-minded teams with top-shelf creators on the offensive end. In the early goings of the game, those two top offensive creators, Joel Embiid and Cade Cunningham, found themselves matched up with one another — with the 76ers star drawing the mismatch against the Pistons talisman.
Embiid got the ball behind the three-point line and threw up a pump fake, which Cunningham was not buying. However, the 76ers star accompanied his pump fake with a leg raise that hit the Pistons guard right at the groin. Cunningham was clearly hurt and could not track Embiid's backdoor cut, leading to two easy points for Philly.
Joel Embiid accidentally kicks Cade Cunningham below the belt 😬
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 5, 2026
That must have been quite a painful moment for Cunningham considering the kind of force Embiid can generate with his 7-foot-0, 270-pound frame. But all is well that ends well as the Pistons star didn't necessarily suffer any lingering effects of that blow from the former NBA MVP.
Article Continues BelowCunningham stayed in the game and is currently on the court for the Pistons heading into halftime against the 76ers. At the time of writing, Cunningham has nine points, five rebounds, and four assists in 20 minutes of play, with Detroit now having fallen behind by double digits to Philly, 56-42.
The last thing the Pistons need is an injury to Cunningham considering that Jalen Duren, their other All-NBA player, is currently on the shelf with a hamstring injury. It will be up to Paul Reed and Tolu Smith III to try and slow down Embiid as they look to come back from a double-digit deficit in the second half.