INDIANAPOLIS — Nerlens Noel made his NBA regular-season debut at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. Just like most rookies, the big man has plenty of room for improvement.
Noel struggled offensively and the Sixers suffered a 103-91 loss to the Pacers.
Noel had six points on 2 of 11 shooting from the floor. He did grab 10 rebounds and have three blocks in 35 minutes of action.
Turning point
The third quarter is when things got away from the Sixers. The Pacers turned a three-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead through 36 minutes.
Indiana shot 60.9 percent from the floor in the frame, making 14 of 23 shots.
Alexey Shved scored 12 of his 18 points in the third for the Sixers, making 3 of 4 shots that included a trio of three-pointers. However, the rest of the team made just 4 of 17 field goal attempts in the period.
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Mixing it up
With 1:02 left in the first half, Sixers newcomer Malcolm Thomas was guarding Roy Hibbert in the low post when suddenly the 6-foot-9 forward pushed Hibbert in the back.
The 7-foot-2, 275-pound center fell to the ground. Hibbert charged at Thomas after he returned to his feet and bumped the Sixer in the chest.
Thomas was charged with a flagrant foul, while Hibbert received a technical foul.
Follow the leader
Hibbert dominated for the short-handed Pacers, scoring 22 points, grabbing eight rebounds and tallying six blocks. Hibbert was 6 for 8 from the field and 10 for 13 at the foul line.
Tony Wroten did a little bit of everything for the Sixers. He shot 9 for 21 for 22 points. He also had seven assists, eight rebounds, three steals and just one turnover.
Stat-egic
The Sixers’ coaching staff put a tremendous amount of energy into making this team better defensively, especially in transition.
The Sixers gave up 103 points on the night, but just 13 of those came on the fastbreak.
Take a bow
Chris Johnson made his first-ever NBA start at shooting guard for the Sixers. He scored 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
Last year, the 6-foot-6 Johnson appeared in 40 games for the Celtics, averaging 6.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game.
Former Sixer and Philadelphia native Lavoy Allen scored six points, pulled down five rebounds and handed out two assists for the Pacers in a 20-minute run.
What's next?
The Sixers travel to Milwaukee for a Friday matchup with the Bucks, who suffered an overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
Last season, the Bucks finished with the worst record in the league at 15-67. The Bucks ended up with the No. 2 pick in the draft and selected Jabari Parker out of Duke.
Jason Kidd is in his second year as an NBA head coach, his first with Milwaukee. He hired former Sixers assistant coach Greg Foster as the second assistant on his staff.