Kyle Lowry’s toughness, Tyrese Maxey’s 35 points not enough in Sixers’ loss to Knicks

Kyle Lowry displayed his trademark North Philly toughness in his 76ers debut. Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey showed why he’s an All-Star.

But Lowry’s grit and Maxey’s solid play weren’t nearly enough in Thursday’s 110-96 loss to the New York Knicks at the Wells Fargo Center.

As a result, the Sixers dropped to 32-23, losing for the 10th time in the last 13 games. Meanwhile, the Knicks improved to 34-22.

» READ MORE: Sixers-Knicks takeaways: Kyle Lowry should start alongside Tyrese Maxey; Tobias Harris must improve

Maxey finished with a game-high 35 points, with 18 coming in the third quarter. Lowry added 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting to go with five assists, four rebounds, and three turnovers in 25 minutes, 7 seconds off the bench off the bench.

“It was an amazing atmosphere,” Lowry said, “and the ovation I got was awesome. I was [angry] that we lost in that situation and we were in that situation. But it was a great moment. Now for me, it’s about winning basketball games.

“The first hurrah is over. Now, it’s about going out there and helping this team win basketball games.”

It was the 37-year-old’s first game since playing for the Miami Heat on Jan. 21. He was traded the Charlotte Hornets two days later. The Hornets bought out his contract on Feb. 11, and the 18-year veteran signed with the Sixers on Feb. 13.

“He was really good,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “He fought hard. He made plays. ... He was getting the ball out and around there. ... He played really good for not playing for a month, especially and being a tough situation.

“He kind of came in the game was already [lopsided]. He was in fight-back mode almost the whole time he was out there. He was doing everything he could to get us back out there.”

Thanks in large part to Maxey and Lowry, the Sixers closed the gap to six points, 92-86, with 8:51 left, after trailing by as many as 26 points.

However, the Sixers took Lowry out of the game, and the Knicks responded with a 10-2 run to take a commanding 102-88 lead with 5:27 left. The Sixers called a timeout and Lowry reentered the game, but it was too late at that point.

Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson, a former Villanova standout, had 21 points.

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Lowry, who graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School, played two years at Villanova, and is a six-time NBA All-Star, had a dramatic first game as a Sixer. He suffered a lacerated forehead in the second quarter but returned after halftime after being stitched up.

With 9:35 left before intermission, Lowry was hit in the left arm and left side of his face while taking an elbow from Knicks forward Jericho Sims. He was taken to the locker room, received stitches in his forehead, and returned in the third quarter.

“I go out there and do my job,” the point guard said of returning. “We go out there and get paid a whole lot of money to go out there and play basketball and be professionals and given an opportunity to play basketball. I’ve been doing this for 18 years now.

“These games are important to play. Just being out there playing basketball doing a job that you love to do, especially doing it in front of some great fans and for a great organization and against great competition. We had four Villanova guys out there tonight, and it always great to be playing against those guys.”

In addition to Lowry’s homecoming, Thursday marked Nico Batum’s first game since Jan. 29.

The small forward started alongside Tobias Harris, Paul Reed, Buddy Hield, and Maxey.

“I’m good. I’m great,” Batum said before the game. “I will be fine.”

On a minutes restriction, the 6-foot-8, 230-pounder had zero points, three rebounds, one assist, and a turnover in 18:09.

“I’m happy to be back. I’m not at top, top shape conditioning stuff, game-shape stuff,” Batum said. “But it will come back. I gotta get through it sometimes.”

» READ MORE: Will the Sixers keep struggling minus Joel Embiid? Kyle Lowry doesn’t think so.

The Sixers will welcome back De’Anthony Melton in Friday’s home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The shooting guard has missed the past 19 games with a spine injury.

Thursday was a busy day for Sixers two-way players Terquavion Smith and Kenneth Lofton Jr., along with Darius Bazley, who signed a 10-day contract with the Sixers on Tuesday.

The trio played in the morning in the G League Delaware Blue Coats’ 126-115 victory over the Grand Rapid Gold at Chase Fieldhouse. They then rejoined the Sixers for the game against the Knicks.

Smith had a game-high 33 points for the Blue Coats, while Lofton and Bazley both had 22 points.

“To be honest, man, it’s basketball,” Bazley said of being a part of two games in one day. “That’s how I look at it. For me, everything is like perspective. So there’s two sides of it for me. On one side, I’m like super grateful. And I’m also ready for whatever comes with it [the 10-day contract], because I do understand the position I’m in and what I’m trying to accomplish.”

Bazley played for the Blue Coats for the most of this season after playing in the NBA the past three seasons.

» READ MORE: Kyle Lowry’s Philly rise said a lot about his NBA success. Just ask his Cardinal Dougherty teammates.

The Sixers will be back at it at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a home game against Cleveland (NBCSP and ESPN). This game will be a rematch of Philly’s 123-121 victory over the Cavs on Feb. 12 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

On that night, Hield (24 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (24) led the Sixers in scoring, while Maxey added 22 points.

Reed finished with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting along with eight rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. His block on Donovan Mitchell’s layup with 1.1 seconds remaining helped preserve the victory.