Kyle Lowry’s Sixers debut wasn’t all smooth sailing, since the veteran guard finished the night with a facial laceration that occurred early in the second quarter.
Lowry took an elbow to the head from Jericho Sims, but he returned to the court in the second half and helped to mount a stirring comeback that wasn’t to be.
There were other more positive moments for Lowry, like receiving a standing ovation when he took the court.
“It was great,” Lowry said after finishing with 11 points, four rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes off the bench. “Unfortunately, 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 happy. 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.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse won a championship with Lowry at the Raptors and spent almost ten seasons there with him.
He was impressed by Lowry’s first outing and his ability to rally the troops.
“He was really good,” Nurse said. “He fought hard. He made plays.
“He played really good for not playing for a month, especially, and being in a tough situation. He kind of came in and the game was already, he was in fight back mode almost the whole time he was out there and he was doing everything he could to get us back in it.”
Before his first game, Lowry affirmed that playing in his hometown was never a dream of this.
But now that it’s happening, he’s going to make the most of it.
“It wasn’t a dream,” Lowry said. “You never want to play at home because there’s so much going on. It’s a hard place to play when you go back at home. But at the end of the day, it’s a dream come true because I’m able to play in front of my friends and family and people that I cheered growing up as a Sixers fan. It’s one of those things that now I’m prepared to do it.”
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