Nick Nurse Explains 76ers Veteran’s Second-Half Absence vs Magic

Where was Caleb Martin in the second half?

Nov 20, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse reacts during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

After seeing their first win streak of the 2024-2025 NBA season get snapped, the Philadelphia 76ers bounced back on Friday night in their rematch with the Orlando Magic.

Once again, the Sixers entered the matchup undermanned, missing a couple of players. As the game progressed, the Sixers dealt with another injury scare. This time, it was the veteran forward Caleb Martin, who left for the locker room early on.

Martin’s ankle was bothered late in the first quarter. While he managed to finish his free throws after getting fouled, Martin left the court and went back to the team’s locker room. At the time, the severity of his setback was unclear, but it didn’t take long before the Sixers cleared him for action.

Caleb Martin is back in after a trip to the locker room. Guy is fighting through a lot.

— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) December 7, 2024

Nick Nurse had the veteran forward trot back out on the floor for six minutes down the stretch of the second quarter. When the Sixers reached the third quarter, it came and went without an appearance from Martin. The veteran also went through the fourth quarter without checking in. After the game, Nick Nurse explained the second-half absence for Martin.

“He could’ve played in the second half,” the head coach told reporters.

“He was sore. He tweaked his ankle there a little bit. He could have gone—he was ready to go back and play—but just kind of again, ended up a little bit like, KJ [Martin] is playing so well. Kelly [Oubre]’s rebounding the ball and playing solid. Jared [McCain] didn’t have a very good first half, but we gave him his second-half shot, and he played again a little better in the second half, so we didn’t really have to go to [Caleb Martin].”

Martin finished the game with just two points, two rebounds, and one assist in eight minutes of action. Fortunately, the 76ers landed a nice bench boost from KJ Martin, who scored 20 points in 31 minutes of action.

Philly defeated Orlando with a 102-94 victory. They advance to 6-15 on the year.

While Nurse is confident Martin will be fine moving forward, the offseason acquisition will be a name to keep an eye on ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.