PHILADELPHIA _ The foreseeable future ended up being only six quarters.
That's how long the 76ers' reserve center, Nerlens Noel, was sidelined after it was announced that he would be out of the rotation for the foreseeable future. But on Tuesday, the Sixers were in desperate need of a defensive spark against the New Orleans Pelicans.
So Noel entered the game to a semi-standing ovation with 5 minutes, 40 seconds left in the third quarter with his team down 14 points. The Pelicans went on to take a 108-93 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
The loss dropped the Sixers to 7-21. They also have lost nine of their last 10 home games. New Orleans (10-20) snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Sixers' defensive woes _ especially in the second quarter _ cost them an opportunity to win back-to-back games. They gave up 42 points in the period, the most they have surrendered in a quarter all season.
Midway through the third quarter, fans were yelling "Nerlens" and "put Nerlens in." That was followed by a faint chant of "We want Nerlens."
So he checked in with the Sixers down, 66-52. He was active during his 6-minute, 49-second stint, finishing with four points on 2-for-2 shooting. The 6-foot-11, 232-pounder also had three rebounds. He was, however, noticeably fatigued by the end of the quarter. Noel did not play in the fourth quarter.
This was just his third game of the season.
Noel missed the first 23 games with the knee injury. He spent some of that time rehabilitating in Alabama. He played 10 minutes in his season debut against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 11. Noel missed the second half of the game and sat out Wednesday's matchup against the Toronto Raptors with a left ankle sprain.
Noel returned to action Friday against the Lakers and played all of his 8:02 in the first half.
Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis led all scorers with 31 points to go with 16 rebounds and two blocks. However, he had an off-shooting night, making just 12 of 30 attempts. He opened up the game with a dunk and missed his next eight shots before a second-quarter dunk.
The all-star went on to score 11 second-quarter points. That was expected.
What was not expected: Pelicans backups Tim Frazier (10 points in the quarter) and E'Twaun Moore (10) and Terrence Jones (5) combined to outscore the Sixers, 25-21, in the second period.
Jones finished with 17 points, while Moore had 15. Frazier, a former Sixers point guard, finished with 10. Another former Sixer, Jrue Holiday, had 12 points and nine assists.
Ersan Ilyasova led the Sixers with 14 points. Gerald Henderson added 13 points. Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Robert Covington all finished with 11 points apiece.
