On Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia 76ers faced off against the Dallas Mavericks, looking to square off the season series against the Western Conference side following their defeat in early February.
Tyrese Maxey put on an offensive display against his hometown team, scoring 24 points on 53 percent shooting, while dishing out three assists.
An additional spotlight would be cast on Tobias Harris, who would lead the Sixers' scoring charge with 28 points on 57 percent shooting, marking his second straight game of brilliance on the offensive end.
Yet, Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse would find himself praising another member of the Sixers' lineup, Nicolas Batum, who played a crucial part in the four point victory for the Sixers.
One of the areas that Nurse highlighted was the 35-year-old's ability to secure rebounds for his team, regardless of the difficulty.
"Well, he is a unique player," Nurse told reporters, "Not only did he grab some rebounds, but he ran a bunch of those long bounce-out-to-the-corner ones down, he was the one running out there to get those."
Batum would end the game with a season-high 11 rebounds, many of which came on the defensive end, which in some part would help Philadelphia attempt two more shots on the offensive end.
Yet, it would be on that offensive end that the Sixers' head coach would provide additional praise for Batum, shining a light on his playmaking ability which was on full display in the fourth quarter.
"There was a segment of the game where they were blitzing Tyrese, and he [Batum] got the ball in the middle," explained Nurse, "He hit Paul [Reed] for a dunk, he hit Kelly [Oubre] for a three, he hit three plays in a row, he got the ball in the middle and we scored on all of them."
Batum's two assists in the fourth quarter would help create five points for the Sixers down the stretch, which given the four point difference in the end, would be more than pivotal for his team.
Nurse would end his press conference with some additional compliments regarding the intelligence of the French veteran.
"Good passer, smart player," finished Nurse, "it's good to see him on the glass too."
Since coming back off of a injury stint caused by issues with his hamstring, Batum has occupied for a role off of the bench, only starting two games since his return, even featuring for merely three seconds to inbound the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers in late February.
With Nurse open to experimenting with the starting lineup, especially regarding the four and two roles on the court, it's uncertain when Batum will return to the spot he occupied in the starting lineup prior to the All-Star break.
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