Kyle Lowry Acknowledges Injury in Sixers Debut vs. Knicks
Thursday’s matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks served as the debut performance for Philly’s veteran guard, Kyle Lowry.
After Lowry was traded to the Charlotte Hornets from the Miami Heat, he spent a few weeks working on a buyout scenario with Charlotte. Once it became clear that Lowry was set to hit the open market, he decided to reunite with Daryl Morey and Nick Nurse by joining the Sixers.
While Lowry officially signed before the All-Star break, the Sixers ruled him out against his former team as they planned to give him some more time to ramp up after getting a few weeks off from playing.
Once the Sixers returned from the break on Thursday, Lowry was cleared for action after participating in his first practice with the 76ers one day prior.
A little over halfway through the first quarter, Lowry checked in for his first set of action with the Sixers. He looked solid as he went 2-2 from the field, scoring four points. He also tacked on an assist.
Unfortunately, Lowry checked out of the game early on during the second quarter. After getting elbowed in the face by an opponent, Lowry was seen bleeding from his face. The veteran guard was rushed back to the locker room to get cleaned up and checked out.
The new Sixers guard ended up missing the remainder of the first half. While it seemed he was trending towards getting the rest of the night off as a result, the Sixers deemed Lowry ready to return after getting stitches due to a facial laceration.
"I go out there and do my job," said Lowry. "We get paid an awful lot of money to go out there and play basketball and be professionals. You’re given the opportunity to play basketball. I’ve been doing this for 18 years now. These games are important to play. Just being out there and playing basketball. Doing a job that you love to do. Especially doing it in front of some great fans for a great organization, and against great competition. We had four Villanova guys out there tonight. It’s always great to be playing against those guys. That’s the competition that you love for the game.
In 25 minutes of action, Lowry shot 5-7 from the field. He provided 11 points off the bench, along with four rebounds and five assists.
The Sixers hope Lowry can give them a big boost off the bench this season, playing under his former head coach, Nick Nurse. Prior to joining the Sixers, Lowry appeared in 37 games for the Knicks this year. He averaged eight points, four rebounds, and four assists for Miami.
While the guard is healthy enough to continue playing, he'll miss Friday's game against Cleveland.
