Nick Nurse Speaks on Kyle Lowry's Sixers Debut

Sixers coach opens up on new addition's first outing with team.

On Thursday night, the Philadelphia 76ers had their first game coming out of the All-Star break. After dealing with injuries for weeks, they had some much-needed reinforcements. However, it was not enough to come out victorious. 

One of the key storylines for the Sixers in their matchup with the New York Knicks was the debut of Kyle Lowry. The former All-Star was bought out by the Charlotte Hornets last week, and decided to join his hometown team. 

Lowry logged 25 minutes off the bench in his Sixer debut and finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and five assists. He had a minor scare in the first half after taking a nasty elbow for Knicks center Jericho Sims. Lowry was forced to exit the game and get stitches, but eventually returned to the action. 

Along with returning to his hometown, Lowry is also reuniting with a former coach in Nick Nurse. The two worked together for some time during their respective tenures with the Toronto Raptors. 

After the game, Nurse shared his thoughts on what he saw from Lowry in his debut. 

"He was really good. He fought hard. He made plays. I don’t know how many assists he ended up with, but he was getting the ball out and around there. Six assists, or five, whatever it says," Nurse said. "He played really good for not playing for a month, especially for being in a tough situation. He came in and was kind of in fight back mood almost the entire time he was out there. He was doing everything he could to get us back in it."

Moving forward, Lowry will likely take on the backup point guard duties behind Tyrese Maxey. Seeing that they shared the floor together at times Thursday, Nurse might continue experimenting with them as a pairing as well moving forward.