Sixers lose to Timberwolves, fail to deliver fairy-tale ending in Nick Nurse's Iowa return

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct 11, 2024

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DES MOINES, Iowa — Before anyone became acquainted with Nick Nurse, he was a kid from Carroll, Iowa.

That little boy grew up to be an NBA champion coach. And on Friday, his 76ers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in front of a sold-out crowd that included family members and friends in the “triple digits.”

Nurse didn’t get his fairy-tale ending with the Timberwolves holding on to win, 121-111.

This game marked Paul George’s debut as a Sixer after signing a four-year, $211.5 million contract in July. The nine-time All-Star finished with 23 points, six rebounds, and two assists, scoring 13 of his points in the second quarter on 4-for-6 shooting, including 3-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers. He made 4 of 9 3-point attempts for the game.

Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey added 21 points to go with two assists. After shooting 4 for 7 on 3s, Maxey is 8 for 12 (66.6%) through two preseason games.

Maxey exited Friday’s game with 5 minutes, 34 seconds left in the third quarter. George and Kelly Oubre Jr. (16 points) came out 31 seconds later. Andre Drummond added 10 points and 15 rebounds in three quarters of action.

Even in defeat, this was a special homecoming for Nurse, who also previously coached the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League in this arena. The Energy have since changed their name to the Wolves and are now the G League affiliate of the Timberwolves.

“It doesn’t come around very often that you get to bring an NBA team back to your old stomping grounds like this,” Nurse said. “It’s nice that the connection between the Timberwolves and Iowa Wolves and [Minnesota coach Chris Finch] needed a game. And we were actually looking for a couple. So it fit pretty good. I’m excited to be here.”

The 57-year-old also spent two seasons in the early 1990s as the men’s basketball coach at Grand Valley University here in Des Moines.

So, as expected, Nurse was busy catching up with obligations since the team arrived in town Wednesday evening.

The Sixers practiced Thursday morning at Grand View’s Johnson Wellness Center and Dave Sisam Arena. Afterward, players, coaches and staff traveled around 90 miles to the Nurse-owned Carroll National Golf Club in Carroll to play nine holes and have dinner before heading back to the state capital.

After Friday’s shootaround, Nurse and Finch had a joint event for Energy season-ticket holders. He then attended a family gathering for 30 minutes in the afternoon. And he also had an event for Kuemper High School, his alma mater.

“I [had] a few suites to visit before the game,” he said. “So once 3:30p.m. hit, [it was] pretty busy up until right up until game time.”

The Sixers were to travel to Boston after the game to face the Celtics on Saturday. Then they’ll visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

Joel Embiid was not with the team. Nurse said he’s unsure if Embiid will meet them on the road trip.

But Friday’s game plan was to play the top 12 players here extensively against Minnesota.

“Normally at this stage, you probably play everybody,” Nurse said before the game. “Starters and stuff would probably play just the first quarter or first half, whatever. We will probably extend that tonight just because the back half of the roster will probably play the majority of the game tomorrow night. It’s too early in the proceeding to play guys on back-to-backs.

“We will literally probably play one group tonight and one group tomorrow.”

Finch also decided to play his core players for extensive minutes.

“So it’s a good treat for everybody to see two really good NBA teams,” Nurse said.

The Sixers were happy that Nurse got an opportunity to coach an NBA game at a place dear to his heart.

“As you see it, he has a ton of respect here, a ton of influence here,” George said. “And he’s won on many levels.”

That’s why the Sixers were determined to put on a show for fans in Iowa while also supporting Nurse’s return here.

“This is a big-time moment for him,” Maxey said. “We have to show love. … That’s amazing to come back with your NBA team. That’s amazing. That’s a blessing.”