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Shawn Long carving out a spot with Sixers

NEW YORK - When he talked about Shawn Long, veteran Gerald Henderson got straight to the point about his 76ers teammate, who spent the bulk of his rookie season in the NBA Development League.

NEW YORK - When he talked about Shawn Long, veteran Gerald Henderson got straight to the point about his 76ers teammate, who spent the bulk of his rookie season in the NBA Development League.

"He's an NBA player, man," Henderson said.

After only 10 NBA games, that's obvious.

The reserve center finished with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds Sunday in the loss to the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. That came two days after he finished with a career-high 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting in a victory over the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.

"He knows how to play," said Henderson, who is in his eighth NBA season. "He's aggressive. He's not scared. He goes out there and plays the same way he did in the D-League."

The 6-foot-9 Long is averaging 7.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 11.5 minutes as the Sixers' third-string center. He has excelled in extended minutes the last two games because Jahlil Okafor was sidelined with right knee soreness.

The Sixers (27-46) initially called Long up on a 10-day contract from their D-League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers, on March 6 to provide depth behind Okafor and Richaun Holmes. The team signed him to a partially guaranteed, three-year deal on March 16 after his 10-day contract expired.

His contract is guaranteed through the rest of the season.

"I just have to do what I do - that's just play hard," Long said of his role. "I'm still learning from the schemes on defense and whatnot. But Coach has confidence in me and [is] putting me in there. So I think the thing I bring to the table is playing hard."

But his hard play makes an easy, fun-loving target for his teammates.

"He's done his thing," Henderson said with a smile. "He's averaging a foul per minute. We tell him about it every day."

Splitter's back

The Sixers recalled Tiago Splitter from Delaware on Monday. The team sent him to their D-League affiliate last Tuesday as part of his return-to-play protocol. The power forward/center last played in an NBA game as an Atlanta Hawk on Jan. 31, 2016, because of season-ending right hip surgery. He could make his Sixers debut in the coming days.

The team is in New York for Tuesday's game against the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center. The Sixers will host the Hawks on Wednesday before road games against the Cleveland Cavaliers (Friday) and Toronto Raptors (Sunday).

Splitter averaged 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 13.8 minutes in two games with the Sevens. His best outing came Saturday when he posted eight points and eight rebounds in 14 minutes against the Windy City Bulls at the Bob Carpenter Center. Splitter, 32, made 4 of 6 shots.

The Sixers acquired Splitter and a protected second-round pick from the Hawks for Ersan Ilyasova on Feb. 22. The Sixers also have the right to swap another second-rounder in June's draft.

Splitter's contract expires at the conclusion of this season.

Take a bow

The team will honor KIPP Lanning Square Middle School boys' basketball coach/athletic director Matt George as the Sixers Jr. NBA coach of the year in an on-court ceremony on Wednesday.

Talking to Hinkie

The Sacramento Kings have received permission from Sixers managing partner Josh Harris to speak to former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, ESPN reported.Vlade Divac is the Kings' vice president of basketball operations and general manager.

kpompey@phillynews.com

@PompeyOnSixers