Sixers fall in first game without MCW

Brett Brown will remember hearing about the Michael Carter-Williams trade for a long time.

The head coach was in his office Thursday when Sam Hinkie walked in. Hinkie had a trade on the table that involved shipping out Carter-Williams, and the general manager believed the trade was a good move.

"You take a deep breath and you listen and you make him repeat it," Brown said before Friday night's game. "You ask him to repeat it. 'Do you really think that this deal is going to move us forward?' He said, 'Yes I do.' Then I think he has to do his job."

Hinkie did just that, and in the first game without Carter-Williams, the 76ers fell to the Indiana Pacers, 106-95, at the Wells Fargo Center. Guard Rodney Stuckey came off the bench to score 30 points and lead the Pacers.

Brown attributed the loss to a lack of momentum. Before the all-star break, the Sixers had won four of seven games.

"It's the first time you've played in [11] days," Brown said. "You're playing against a veteran team . . . I actually take a lot of positives out of what I just saw, and I also see a group that will respond with time."

Despite playing soon after one of the most chaotic days in recent memory, the atmosphere at the Wells Fargo Center wasn't much different from normal. Even though he was "shocked" that Carter-Williams was traded, center Nerlens Noel didn't let that affect his game. He put up 12 points, nine rebounds, a season-high nine blocks, and four steals.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first rookie in NBA history to record such a line since steals and blocks began to be officially tracked in 1973-74.

"I didn't know Michael would be departing like that," Noel said. "I love him. He's my brother. I wish the best for him."

Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored 16 points and added 10 rebounds.

It was guard Jason Richardson's first game in more than 25 months. Richardson finished with seven points and seven rebounds. He said he didn't know he was going to start until he met with Brown shortly before the game.

"I thought he was just going to talk about the minutes log," Richardson said. "He told me I was starting and I was just like 'Seriously?' and he was like 'Yeah.' That was his call."

The Sixers had two new additions to the bench, as center JaVale McGee and guard Isaiah Canaan were both with the team after being acquired Thursday from the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, respectively. McGee was active, despite not having arrived in Philadelphia until four hours before tipoff. He scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in 11 minutes.

McGee was "shocked" he ended up with the Sixers, but he wasn't unhappy with his new team.

"Denver wasn't contending either," McGee said. "I would be hot if I was in the playoffs and got sent to a team that wasn't in the playoffs, but I wasn't in the playoffs either way."

Canaan was inactive, but said he's looking forward to getting a chance to compete.

"All I've been looking for is an opportunity, and a good one," Canaan said.

Carter-Williams addressed the Milwaukee media before Friday night's home game against the Denver Nuggets at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. He talked about trying to fit in with his new teammates.

"I'm not going to try to overdo it, try to step on anybody's toes," said the former Sixer and rookie of the year. "But you know, at the end of the day I am the point guard and I do have some big shoes to fill. ...

I've got to slowly, once the guys trust me, become a leader for this team."