Sixers' Nick Nurse gives love to Pacers star Pascal Siakam after loss

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The undermanned Philadelphia 76ers didn’t have a lot go right for them in Thursday’s 134-122 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Down five key pieces, including starters Tobias Harris and De’Anthony Melton, the Sixers just weren’t able to keep up with a tough Pacers team. Joel Embiid had 31 points and seven rebounds on a night he was named an All-Star starter and Tyrese Maxey added 22 points for Philadelphia. However, the Pacers received a big night from their new star: Pascal Siakam. Picking up his first win with Indiana since being acquired from the Toronto Raptors, Siakam delivered 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists for Indiana. It was a big night for the 2-time All-Star which didn’t surprise Sixers coach Nick Nurse who knows him very well from their days in Toronto. “He was good,” Nurse told reporters about Siakam. “He was very good. Obviously, he got going early, and when he does that, then you’re gonna see him play a really good–talk about his versatility. We got to him kind of late on some double teams on some things and when we did get them done, there was nobody to rotate out, which is why he had such a big assist numbers as well.” Siakam’s versatility was on full display all night. The Pacers had lost their first three games with him in the fold, but Thursday was a big example of why Indiana acquired him. He can put the ball in the basket and he can make plays for others. An overall really solid night for him. Of course, it didn’t help that the Sixers didn’t play with much energy and had a tough night overall, but Siakam still had a terrific night as Philadelphia couldn’t figure him out. “We just again, we weren’t very good at guarding the initial action,” Nurse added. “If we would plug that with some help, we weren’t very good at guarding the next action out of that either. So it just was a lot of issues at the defensive end for sure.” Sixers rookie Ricky Council IV happy to get extended run in loss to PacersTyrese Maxey, Sixers discuss what went wrong in road loss to PacersPlayer grades: Joel Embiid, Sixers come up short vs. Pacers to begin trip
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Source: https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/2024/01 ... fter-loss/