The Sixers' De’Anthony Melton, defended by the Pistons' Jaden Ivey, had five points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in his first game since Feb. 27.De’Anthony Melton smiled and rubbed his hands together as he walked onto the court at the start of Tuesday’s second quarter, with the home crowd andbench erupting into cheers. That ovation continued when the ball found Melton’s hands less than two minutes later, and he splashed home a three-pointer.
It appeared the Sixers were in a similar place on Feb. 23, when Melton came back for a home victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers shortly after, and Cameron Payne joined the team. But two games later, Melton left in the middle of a Feb. 27 loss at the Boston Celtics with what coachinitially described as back spasms. That again pushed him into recovery mode, and became his second unsuccessful return attempt since Dec. 30.
Maxey and Lowry also both missed Tuesday’s game due to injury, offering a little glimpse into how the backcourt minutes could be distributed when the Sixers are fully healthy. When asked following Tuesday’s game if there is a chance Melton could be reinserted into the starting lineup, Nurse said “it’s really hard to answer” that question while acknowledging Melton is not yet ready to play starters’ minutes.Tuesday night, Melton played stints to begin the second and fourth quarters.