It was just like any other alley-oop attempt this season for Nerlens Noel ... until the landing.
Noel soared in the air for an alley-oop pass from JaKarr Sampson near the midway point of the third quarter in the Sixers' 94-83 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center (see Instant Replay). As it turns out, the pass was way too high.
The Pistons' Andre Drummond also went up in an attempt to intercept the pass. Drummond came down off balance and fell into Noel. The Sixers' rookie center grimaced after landing and began hopping on one foot.
Noel was officially diagnosed with a right foot contusion.
"When someone 300 pounds lands on you, it doesn't feel too good," Noel said. "It was painful. I tried to tough it out and go back in the game. I told coach whatever he needed from me, but the guys held it down. We got the W, and it was a great effort."
Noel stayed in the game before eventually leaving with 4:27 left to play in the third quarter and the Sixers up by nine points.
That lead was just 68-65 entering the fourth quarter. Noel's defensive presence clearly was missed, but Sixers head coach Brett Brown left Noel on the bench and allowed Furkan Aldemir and Thomas Robinson to figure things out.
With 8:06 to play in the game, the Sixers' lead was back to double digits.
"He could have played tonight," Brown said of Noel. "I felt Furkan was playing well. It felt like the game was under control. We just decided to give Nerlens a little more rest."
The Sixers will not practice on Thursday with a home game against the New York Knicks set for Friday night.
Brown did not sound alarmed about Noel's injury, but he did not commit to the big man playing against the Knicks. Noel wasn't overly concerned about the injury either.
"I definitely do feel good," Noel said. "It already feels a little better. It is just a little sore, but I will get in for treatment [Thursday] and get ready for Friday."
Noel had 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting, four rebounds and three blocks before exiting the game.
Noel has a unique skill set, and Wednesday he was especially motivated to put his talents to good use early.
"Coach has been talking a lot about teams scoring a lot in the first quarter. I wanted to take it upon myself to change that," Noel said. "We only allowed 21 points in the first quarter. I wanted to help our team start out better defensively so we would have a better chance, especially coming off the last game."
The Sixers allowed 38 points to the Boston Celtics in the first quarter on Monday before ultimately losing by 19.
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They locked down against the Pistons on Wednesday. The Sixers held the Pistons to 33.0 percent shooting from the field and 30.8 from three-point range.
The Sixers really cranked up the defense in the second quarter. They allowed the Pistons to score just 18 points on 31.6 percent shooting, while also forcing them into nine turnovers.
That defensive charge turned a three-point advantage into nine at halftime.
Noel, as usual, was a big force for the Sixers on defense. He blocked three shots and altered countless others, as the Pistons made 10 of 38 shots in the paint.
"He has uncanny timing," Brown said. "He doesn't jump too soon, for the most part. He can do things on the ball. He can do things off the ball. He goes left-handed or right-handed. He is patient back there. He is lurking."
"You have a natural instinct for it," Noel said of his shot-blocking ability. "You have to anticipate a guy's move. I wait for them to shoot the ball and not have me already off the floor. My natural abilities help with that, but it is a lot of anticipation."
Noel's teammates appreciate his talents and put him in an elite defensive group.
"Guys like him and Andre Drummond and Tyson Chandler, they are scary when you come into that paint," Ish Smith said. "When you are coming down full speed with those guys, they are so long and so athletic that even when you think you are by them, they can still meet you at the rim. That presence gives a whole new dimension to the game and it gives Coach a new toy to play with."