PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a 110-96 loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday as they got back at it following the All-Star break, but they also were able to see the debut of Kyle Lowry.
The Sixers brought Lowry on shortly after the deadline after he and the Charlotte Hornets agreed to a buyout. Lowry played 37 games for the Miami Heat to begin the season before he was sent to the Hornets. The two sides then agreed to a buyout clearing his way to sign with the Sixers.
In his debut on Thursday, he had 11 points, five assists, and four rebounds off the bench while shooting 5-for-7 from the floor. He had seven points in the second half after returning from a facial laceration he suffered in the second quarter. He returned with stitches on his forehead as the Philadelphia native made sure he was out there with his team.
Afterward, Lowry discussed his debut, his injury, the play of Tyrese Maxey, and playing for coach Nick Nurse again:
“It was great. Unfortunate that we didn’t play as well as I think we can, but it was an amazing atmosphere and the ovation that I got was awesome. I was pissed that we lost and we were in that situation, but it was a great moment. Now for me, it’s about winning basketball games. That first hurrah is over now. It’s about going out there and helping this team win basketball games.”
“I felt OK. I did a good job with my trainers when I was home. We did a good job of continuing to work out. Individual workouts. You can’t emulate actual game play, but the last couple days at practice was great for me. I did a little bit of cardio when I was at home, but I felt OK. I think I got a little tired. I played a bunch of minutes straight, but that’s the great thing about being a professional. When it’s time to be a pro, you gotta be a pro, and make sure your body and mind is ready to go.”
“I go out there and do my job. We get paid an awful lot of money to go out there and play basketball and be professionals and given the opportunity to play basketball. I’ve been doing this for 18 years now and these games are important to play. Just being out there and playing basketball and doing a job that you love to do. Especially, doing it in front of some great fans and a great organization and against great competition. We had four Villanova guys out there tonight and it’s always great to be playing against those guys and always the competition that you love for the game.”
“It’s cool. Six stitches. The doctor made it seven in there so it was a nice little seven in there so it was cool! I said ‘Alright, cool doc’. Hopefully, it’ll be a little bit better tomorrow, but it’s a little sore still. Numb from the numbing, but we’re cool.”
“It’s always like that. I think one thing is the relationship that me and him have has been created through 11 years or whatever it has been or maybe longer than that now. Just the trust that we have for each other. He trusts me and I trust him and we’re actually always on the same page. Tonight, it was an action that he wanted to run and I said ‘Coach, let’s keep the ball in Tyrese’s hands’ and we got a bucket off of it, but it’s just about the communication. When you have a guy that you trust and who trusts you, it makes your whole everything better. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it was as seamless as it looked.”
“One of the most talented basketball players in the NBA. He’ll just continue to get better. I don’t know how old he is, but he’s gonna continue to get better and I’m looking forward to just watching the shows that he’s able to put on and being on his side and try to continue to push him to be better and learn the game even better and even more.”
“I think one thing about our league is our league is player dominant and a lot of our coaches are really freaking good coaches and what makes them all good coaches is having that communication between coach and player. Me and Nick, like I said, he wasn’t always a head coach, and I always wasn’t a starting point guard or who I was at the time and the growth that we’ve seen with each other and for each other is kinda why it works out. We were sitting next to each other working out when he was an assistant and it just continued to grow which is why our relationship is different and special.”