Sixers prevail without Joel

JIMMY Butler has scored 38 points and Ben Simmons pitched in 18 as the Philadelphia 76ers overcame Joel Embiid’s absence against the Detroit Pistons, rallying from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to win 117-111.

Blake Griffin had 31 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit in yesterday’s NBA clash but the Pistons squandered their big third-term lead as well as a sixpoint advantage in the fourth.

The 76ers rested Embiid, who missed his first game of the season, but Detroit couldn’t take advantage of the big man’s absence.