Fultz back in action for Sixers
Late in the game, 76ers fans chanted, “We Want Fultz!” Markelle Fultz tossed his hoodie, adjusted his shorts and checked back in the game.
“Fultz! Fultz! Fultz!”
The Sixers and their fans wanted the No. 1 pick to play and — after five often-confusing months — they got him.
Fultz scored 10 points and had eight rebounds in his first game since October, helping the 76ers beat the Denver Nuggets, 123-104, last night in Philadelphia.
The first selection of the 2017 draft shot an airball, had three shots blocked and artfully attacked the lane, flashing glimpses of what has made him both a mystery project and prominent prospect.
With Philadelphia having clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2012, Fultz decided the time was right to return from an injured shoulder and busted confidence that had cost him all but four games of his rookie season. Fultz sparked the 76ers at times in a reserve role.
“It was his decision,” coach Brett Brown said. “It’s been fluid. I get goosebumps telling you all that. I’m so proud of him. The people around him have done great things. I give that kid credit.”
The 19-year-old Fultz played the 76ers’ first four games of the season before he was ruled out indefinitely in October with soreness and a scapular muscle imbalance in the shoulder.
The Sixers aren’t sure what they’ll get out of Fultz as they push toward 50 wins.
“That is a great unknown,” team president Bryan Colangelo said. “I’m not sure I have the answer. We will have to ... certainly not judge tonight as the sole case of what to expect going forward.”
Joel Embiid had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Ben Simmons had 11 assists for the Sixers.
Pistons 112, Lakers 106 — Reggie Jackson scored 20 points, Reggie Bullock had 16 and host Detroit beat Los Angeles.
Detroit won for the fourth time in five games, but trails idle Miami by five games for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
With Blake Griffin reduced to 24 minutes due to foul trouble, reserve Anthony Tolliver added 15 points as the Pistons put six players in double figures.
Hornets 137, Knicks 128 — Kemba Walker had 11 of his 31 points and three assists in overtime, and host Charlotte outlasted New York for its fourth straight victory.
Walker hit a late 3-pointer to help send the game into overtime and then took over.
Walker was 4-for-4 in the extra period with three 3-pointers to outduel New York’s Trey Burke, who finished with a career-high 42 points on 19-of-31 shooting and 12 assists.
Grizzlies 101, Timberwolves 93 — Wayne Selden scored 23 points, Marc Gasol had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Memphis surprised Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Selden and Gasol each hit four 3-pointers as Memphis went 15-of-31 from beyond the arc and snapped its 17-game road losing streak, dealing a blow to Minnesota’s playoff hopes. The Timberwolves fell from seventh to eighth in the Western Conference.