Sixers Notebook: Melton made available for help from anemic Sixers bench

De'Anthony Melton, who has played just 11 games since late December, was available for Game 3 of the 76ers' first-round series with the New York Knicks Thursday night. Melton has been nursing a spine injury, four times re-entering the lineup only to go back on the shelf. Sixers coach Nick Nurse was somewhat circumspect about what the six-year veteran, who averaged 11.1 points per game in 38 outings this year, might supply. The bar to constitute improvement for the second unit is low, though.