PHILADELPHIA — This night was all about Joel Embiid.
The 76ers center returned Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing the previous 10 games with a left knee bone bruise. Embiid finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and three blocks in the Sixers’ 122-113 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
But he still has room for improvement, missing all four of his 3-point attempts and committing four turnovers in 28 minutes, 35 seconds.
”I thought he played OK. You could see the rust,” Doc Rivers said. “You know he turned the ball over a little. He didn’t execute very well down the stretch of the game. I thought part of that was he probably didn’t remember half of it. But we won the game. I wasn’t thrilled with how we played. It was one of those sloppy, ugly games.”
Tobias Harris scored 12 of the Sixers’ final 14 points to close out the victory. The power forward finished with a team-high 32 points.
The Sixers improved to 34-15 and pulled into a first-place tie with the Brooklyn Nets atop the Eastern Conference standings with 23 games remaining.
On this night, the crowd showed its appreciation for Embiid before the game started.
As he normally does, Embiid arrived while his teammates were already in the pregame layup line. As he exited the tunnel onto the court, he was greeted by a huge applause from the crowd. Embiid raised his arms and smiled to acknowledge the crowd while walking toward the scorer’s table. The Sixers fans then chanted “MVP ... MVP ... MVP” after stretching at midcourt. It was the first of numerous “MVP ... MVP ... MVP” chants Embiid received on this night. He heard it after he made a basket and while at the foul line.
This was Embiid’s first game back since suffering the injury on March 12.
Embiid played the first 6:25 before Dwight Howard subbed in for him. Embiid, who wore a sleeve on his left leg, didn’t attempt a shot during his first stint on the court. However, he had two points, two rebounds, and one block.
The 27-year-old checked back into the game 1:15 into the second quarter. His first basket was a dunk on an assist from Furkan Korkmaz with 8:34 left in the half to give the Sixers a 40-32 lead. However, Embiid’s most exciting play came when he drove the lane, collided with Karl-Anthony Towns and scored on an off-balance and-one while falling backward on the floor. After the ball went through the hoop, Embiid celebrated while laying on his back.
He got up and converted the three-point play to give the Sixers a 63-54 lead with 1:32 left before intermission. Embiid scored 13 points on 3-for-7 shooting and making 7 of 11 foul shots to go with five rebounds in the second quarter.
Towns also came to play. The two-time All-Star finished with game highs of 39 points and 14 rebounds as the Timberwolves (12-38) suffered their second straight loss and seventh in nine games. Towns fouled out with 11.5 seconds left.
He had one sequence where he dunked on Embiid before blocking Matisse Thybulle’s shot on the ensuing possession. He thrived in the role of the villain as the Sixers fans booed him just about every time he touched the ball.
The boos stemmed from when Embiid and Towns were both ejected for fighting in the third quarter on Oct. 20, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center. The two have a history of talking trash to each other. On that night, they shoved each other at the Timberwolves’ end of the court while the Sixers pushed the ball at the other end of the court.
Towns then threw a punch that missed and put Embiid in a headlock.
On this night, Embiid delivered a hard foul on Towns in the third quarter. He helped his opponent up and both players kept their cool. Then, with 7:38 left, Embiid received a Flagrant Foul 1 for another hard foul on Towns. Again, both players kept their cool.
