PHILADELPHIA - The Detroit Pistons won Saturday night, but in the estimation of coach Stan Van Gundy they didn't look good while doing so.

"I thought we played a good last 13 minutes," he said after his team closed fast to beat the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 125-111.

Other than that, he said, his team "didn't play very well" against the Sixers (9-57), the NBA's worst team. He called Detroit's turnover total "disastrous," even though the Pistons only had 13 giveaways. The miscues led to 22 Philadelphia points.

Van Gundy reserved most of his criticism for his team's defense, after the Sixers, also the league's lowest-scoring team, shot 46.4 percent and reached their highest point total in seven games.

"We didn't guard very well again," he said. "That's what's going to get us. It's going to be tough to beat good teams. ... We just couldn't guard anybody. I don't know if we just can't or we need to work harder."

Reggie Jackson had 24 points and 10 assists, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope notched seven of his 23 points in a pivotal run beginning late in the third quarter for Detroit, which won for the third time in four games.

Tobias Harris added 21 points for the Pistons (34-32), who are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Detroit's other two starters, Andre Drummond and Marcus Morris, scored 19 points each.

Drummond also had 15 rebounds.

"We're still in the No. 8 spot," Jackson said. "It's that simple. That's all that matters. We wanted to make sure we came in here and got a win."

Isaiah Canaan had 22 points to lead Philadelphia, which lost for the 14th time in 15 games. Carl Landry matched his season high of 18 points, and Ish Smith contributed 16.

The Sixers had only 10 available players. Forwards Robert Covington and Jerami Grant were placed in the league's concussion protocol after colliding with one another in the third quarter of Friday's victory over Brooklyn.

Covington, who was taken off the court on a stretcher, was evaluated for a neck injury at Jefferson Hospital, but was later released.

Another forward, Richaun Holmes, sat out after straining his right Achilles' tendon on Friday, and center Jahlil Okafor is out for the season because of a knee injury the team has described as minor.

The Sixers, who led by 10 points in the first half, were up 87-85 after two free throws by Nik Stauskas with 37.8 seconds left in the third quarter.

Caldwell-Pope made a jumper, and after a Philadelphia turnover, he took a pass from backup point guard Steve Blake and swished a 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Detroit the lead for good at 90-87.

Canaan opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a basket, a play on which he was fouled but missed the free throw that would have knotted the game once more.

Detroit then reeled off the next 10 points, four each by reserves Aron Baynes and Reggie Bullock, to seize a 100-89 cushion with 9:40 left.

The Sixers, outscored 40-24 to end the game and 73-54 in the second half, were never closer than five the rest of the way.

Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said Caldwell-Pope's flurry at the end of the third quarter was "momentum-turning," but did not believe his team was worn down in the second half.

"I see a team that is clawing to get into the playoffs, that's good to begin with, going to another gear," he said of the Pistons.

Philadelphia twice held 10-point leads in the second quarter, the last time at 46-36, largely because of the surprisingly effective play of Landry and another veteran forward, Elton Brand, who were pressed into service because of the team's injuries.

They combined for 19 first-half points, 11 of those by Landry.

The Sixers also converted nine Pistons' turnovers into 17 points in the first half, but saw Detroit shave the deficit at the break to 57-52.

Jackson had 15 points in the first 24 minutes, while Drummond contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

Harris scored 12 points in the third quarter, when there were five ties and nine lead changes.

NOTES: Sixers coach Brett Brown said F Richaun Holmes could be out 7-to-10 days because of an Achilles strain and F Robert Covington (concussion) will miss a few games. It is possible, Brown added, that F Jerami Grant will be available for Philadelphia's next game on Tuesday night in Brooklyn. ... Grant called his collision with Covington on Friday a freak accident and said he was unconscious for a moment. "I felt a little scared, but we're all good," he said. "I'll be back playing soon." ... Philadelphia retired the No. 4 of the late Dolph Schayes, a Hall of Famer who spent his entire 15-year career with the Sixers and their forerunner, the Syracuse Nationals. C-F Nerlens Noel will continue to wear that number for the rest of his time in Philadelphia, but it will be discontinued thereafter. ... Detroit G Jodie Meeks, out all season because of a broken bone in his right foot, was active for the first time but did not play.