THE 76ers tried in vain to avoid Toronto 2.0.

That’s when the undermanned team was supposed to defeat the struggling Toronto Raptors, only to suffer an embarrassing defeat. They faced a similar situation Wednesday when the winless Detroit Pistons visited the Wells Fargo Center.

“They play really physical,” Kelly Oubre Jr said before the match. “A lot of big, big, big bodies. Lots of athleticism. So we have to stay locked in for 48 minutes after the jump and then continue to stay disciplined throughout the match.

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Unfortunately, they couldn’t match the intensity of the Pistons, suffering a 105-95 loss while Joel Embiid And Paul Georges remained on the sidelines to start the season.

The loss dropped the Sixers to 1-3. This season was marked by two bad defeats against the previously winless Pistons (1-4) and the rebuilding Raptors. Both losses showed there was a significant decline without Embiid (recovering from left knee injury) and George (left knee bone bruise).

The Sixers can only hope to play Saturday night when they host the Memphis Grizzlies.

On Wednesday, the Sixers trailed by 21 points and were overwhelmed, 49-37.

It turned out to be a happy homecoming for Tobias Harriswho played the last 5½ seasons for the Sixers before signing with Detroit in July. The power forward was booed during pre-match presentations every time he touched the ball and was reinstated in the game.

They applauded him when he missed shots. One fan even shouted, “You suck Tobias” during a break in the action.

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The power forward had 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting, along with a game-high 14 rebounds. His play accelerated as the game progressed. He was held to four points on 2-of-7 shooting in the first half.

He scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in the third quarter and the 32-year-old added seven points on 3-of-6 shooting while grabbing five rebounds in the fourth quarter.

But the Pistons beat the Sixers thanks to a balanced attack.

Jaden Ivy led Detroit with 23 points. Cade Cunningham added 22 points and seven assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. (16 points while making 5 of 6 from three-point range) and reserve Malik Beasley (11 points) were Detroit’s other double-digit scorers.

Sixers All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey finished with 32 points on 12-of-25 shooting. However, his teammates shot 21-of-54. And even that was misleading, as the Sixers finished the game 10-0 in garbage time.