The Philadelphia 76ers were able to escape by the skin of their teeth on Thursday as they did see a 22-point lead dwindle to five, but they were able to prevail over the Detroit Pistons 110-102. They were able to get a big performance from Joel Embiid, but a guard making his season debut gave a big boost.
Shake Milton missed the first four games of the season with a right ankle sprain, but he made his return on Thursday with 13 points and five assists off the bench. He gave the Sixers a bit of a boost as a veteran ball-handler as he had only one turnover in the game to help Philadelphia come away with a win.
“He was great,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I thought he was rusty early on, but overall, he was fantastic.”
Milton was very happy with the fact that he was able to finally play again. The fourth-year guard had a tough time sitting on the sidelines and watching the team play without him.
“It definitely felt good,” smiled Milton. “After a while of sitting out, it’s kinda hard. Sitting there and watching the team. Of course, you’re cheering them on, but you also want to be out there and helping them win so it felt good to be out there tonight.”
He did admit that he was rusty a bit early on. There were a few times where he missed a defensive assignment, but that is due to not being in the flow of the game for a bit. Missing time can throw anybody off.
“A little bit, yeah, I can tell a couple of defensive mistakes I had,” Milton added. “Especially with that being an area I worked so hard in this whole offseason, but I think I haven’t really been playing so I think the more I get in, the more minutes I get, I’ll get back acclimated.”
At the end of the day, Milton is back out on the floor and he will give the Sixers some help in the scoring and ball-handling departments. He is a guy who can give the team a bit of a boost when the time calls for it.
“It’s great to have Shake n Bake back,” added Tyrese Maxey. “He does what he does. He gets hot extremely quick. He did really well today. It was great to see him. I’m glad he’s healthy.”
As far as the ankle is concerned, Milton did add that he gets in some good work with the staff before games in order to ensure that he is getting better. That will help him continue to heal and get ready for the future for this team.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=52336]
[lawrence-related id=53084,53078,53075]