Joel Embiid returned to the Philadelphia 76ers lineup after missing an entire game due to a sinus fracture. Wearing a protective mask, he scored 34 points in Friday’s 108-98 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Embiid also had nine assists with five rebounds in 25 minutes.
Embiid suffered a sinus fracture last Friday against the Indiana Pacers when he was accidentally hit in the face by Bennedict Mathurin. The Sixers said Monday he would be reevaluated in a week.
But four days later, Embiid was back in the lineup. Due to a fortunate period in Philadelphia’s schedule, the injury only saw him miss one full game – Monday’s 121-108 win over the Hornets.
Embiid established himself early, scoring eight of Philadelphia’s first 14 points as the Sixers jumped to a 41-23 lead in the first quarter.
However, the Sixers cooled off while the Hornets erased the large deficit. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Charlotte cut Philadelphia’s lead to 89-83. But three straight baskets from Embiid helped the Sixers rebuild their lead.
Friday’s game was only the fourth in which Philly’s “Big Three” of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have played together. The Sixers went 1-2 in the previous three games.
Maxey scored 23 points with four rebounds and six assists. George contributed just five points, but totaled 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals in his 33 minutes. Kelly Oubre Jr. was Philadelphia’s third 20-point scorer with 22 points and shot 4-for-6 on 3-pointers.
Vasilije Micić led the Hornets with 20 points, followed by 15 points and seven rebounds from Miles Bridges. Brandon Miller missed the game with a sprained left ankle suffered in Monday’s game against Philadelphia.
Next up for the 76ers is a Saturday night matchup with the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers, who defeated the NBA Cup champion Milwaukee Bucks 124-101 on Friday. (Damian Lillard did not play for the Bucks due to a right calf strain.) Will Embiid play the second part of the back-to-back games on the schedule?
