CHICAGO, IL — Finally, Joel Embiid has returned to action once again. And after a brief bump in the road, he looked dominant.
Embiid, who had not played since Nov. 20 due to left knee injury management and personal reasons, took the United Center floor on Sunday afternoon in Chicago looking to lead the Sixers to a victory over a young, fast-paced Bulls team.
After a putrid first quarter from Embiid and the Sixers, the team exploded in the second quarter when its returning franchise centerpiece found his peak form. The Sixers maintained a lead for the remainder of the game, holding off few second-half pushes by the Bulls to earn their second consecutive victory.
From Embiid's initial struggles and ensuing dominance to plenty of other Sixers tidbits, here is what stood out from the Sixers' 108-100 win in the Windy City:
Embiid makes his return
Embiid was listed as questionable for this game on Saturday evening, a promising sign for his availability. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse expressed optimism Sunday morning that Embiid would suit up and play with some sort of limitations via a minutes restriction.
As expected, Embiid went through his pregame warmup routine soon before starting lineups were due, and the Sixers made him available to play (as the starting center, of course).
Predictably, Embiid's first stint on the floor was much more laborious than it was productive. Embiid missed all four of his shot attempts in the first four minutes and change of the game, and with the Sixers trailing 12-4, Nurse called a timeout. Embiid remained in the game out of the break, but failed to connect on two more shots. He was able to swat a layup attempt from Bulls guard Coby White, though, on the last play of his first stretch.
It was likely not shocking to anyone, but Embiid's 0-for-6 start from the field in just over five minutes was underwhelming.
Embiid returned to the game to open the second quarter, and while it was imperfect, he looked far more like the Embiid of old right off the bat. Embiid was moving around much better, including sprinting from the free throw line to the opposite basket to prevent a Chicago layup in transition and being more assertive in hunting his own shots.
rese to jo flow is back! 😁 pic.twitter.com/SxcqydueAX
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 8, 2024
Suddenly, it looked like the former NBA MVP was back in peak form. Embiid decimated Chicago's defense with jumper after jumper, frequenting the nail area which he has made his home in recent years. In the blink of an eye, Embiid had racked up 19 points in just over nine minutes during the second quarter.
Given the amount of controversy and confusion always surrounding Embiid, many have asked in recent months why the Sixers even bother with all of the uncertainty. This quarter was why: Embiid, still working his way into game shape, sleepwalked into 19 points in nine minutes. That is special.
Embiid's second half was also very strong, though not quite as earth-shattering in its dominance. He played the 11:48 of the fourth quarter, an incredibly surprising development which led him to 33 minutes on the night.
Nurse keeps Guerschon Yabusele in the starting lineup
Interestingly, Embiid was joined in the starting lineup by Yabusele, a natural power forward who has logged the vast majority of his minutes as a Sixer at the five to help fill in for Embiid. Embiid and Yabusele were up front to kick things off, with Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Paul George filling out the remainder of Nurse's starting five.
Yabusele appears to be Nurse's first choice to start at power forward in a world in which Embiid is consistently available, ahead of Caleb Martin and KJ Martin — or the concept of sliding George up to the four and going smaller, with Jared McCain playing alongside Maxey in the backcourt.
As Nurse pointed out before the game, the Sixers' three All-Stars — Embiid, George and Maxey, a trio of stars making over $135 million combined — had only logged six minutes with each other prior to Sunday's matinee against Chicago.
Nurse has wanted to use lineups with significant size, and he finally had the chance to do so against a Bulls team which went in the complete opposite direction, starting four guards around veteran center Nikola Vučević.
As Embiid starts slow, so do the Sixers
Aside from a very brief 5-0 Sixers spurt — Andre Drummond put back a Maxey miss, then Jared McCain nabbed a steal and knocked down a transition triple — the opening frame was all Chicago, who led 33-23 after the first dozen minutes thanks to their remarkable ability to keep the tempo as high as possible while also knocking down five early triples — including a buzzer-beater from White.
The unfortunate reality is that Embiid needs extensive reps to get back in the swing of things, even if that means the Sixers having to endure a brutal quarter in which he cannot find any sort of groove. Any sort of feeling-out process is not an ideal thing to experience in December, but it is unavoidable for Embiid and the Sixers given their unique circumstances.
Embiid leads massive second quarter surge
It took 21 games and another 12 minutes, but finally, the Sixers saw what they believed over the summer was realistic: their team steamrolling an opponent, with Embiid leading the way. Embiid absolutely dazzled with his 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting in nine minutes and change:
Joel Embiid with 19 points in a DOMINANT 2nd quarter 💪 pic.twitter.com/qZcjrt7eIH
— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 8, 2024
It was Vintage Embiid, picking-and-popping Chicago to death. After looking unusually passive during much of his first four games in 2024-25, Embiid did not make the same mistake twice. For better or worse, he was going to assert himself at the center of the action. While that mentality was for worse initially, it quickly enabled the Sixers to post a dominant 39-17 quarter in which the Bulls failed to outscore Embiid or the remainder of Embiid's team.
Maxey played the entire second quarter, and his facilitating was consistently strong — as the Sixers entered halftime with a 62-50 lead, Maxey had already notched seven points, seven assists and six rebounds. George made all four of his shot attempts inside the arc during the first half, McCain drilled another three and KJ Martin thrived in nine minutes off the bench, giving the Sixers all of the necessary hustle plays.
Sixers pick up where they left off to open third quarter
Nurse opted to open the second half with McCain on the floor over Yabusele as a counter to Chicago's fast pace. Yabusele and Embiid as a front-court pairing has the chance to be terrific, but this was likely just not the right matchup for it.
Embiid set the tone early in the third quarter, scoring seven quick points and even expressing a sense of shock at his own rhythm:
same, Joel. same. pic.twitter.com/RmY5og9fRB
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 8, 2024
This time, though, it was not a one-man show. The Sixers had contributions across the board, with the most notable standout performer being Oubre, who Nurse said before the game is playing his best basketball right now because of improved decision-making. Oubre's energy and athleticism are extremely valuable tools surrounding stars, and he put them to use in this quarter: on three separate occasions, Oubre snuck into the paint and snagged an offensive rebound which led directly to an open three-point shot for the Sixers. Two of those shots went in, including this one from Maxey:
Tyrese Triple! pic.twitter.com/lLjlozeIwr
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 8, 2024
Oubre also timed a cut to the basket perfectly, enabling him to catch a lob from Maxey:
.@KELLYOUBREJR defying gravity 🪽 pic.twitter.com/uaBJGrkhEW
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 8, 2024
Speaking of Maxey, he had a few dazzling finishes around the rim in this one — including a gorgeous reverse layup after his good friend KJ Martin came up with an impressive swat at the rim:
this sequence: chefs kiss https://t.co/ym0AZc9Njz pic.twitter.com/4SW5uaB1Gh
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 8, 2024
A strong close to the quarter from Chicago's offense trimmed the Sixers' lead to single-digits entering the final frame, as Bulls backup center Jalen Smith beat the buzzer with a long triple.
MORE: Good friends Maxey, KJ Martin mastering two-man game
Chicago makes a push, but Sixers hold on
The Bulls' up-tempo style and reliance on three-point volume in this one created the right recipe to stick around, and they did just that with a valiant effort in the fourth quarter. But the Sixers just had too much for Chicago to handle, keeping them at arm's reach. Twice, Chicago cut the deficit to four points, and the Sixers responded each time.
First, it was Oubre's two-way play that helped create separation, as the swingman notched two key plays and two ensuing celebrations in as many possessions:
Kelly celly! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/4M2ezQUS25
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 8, 2024
Next, Embiid and McCain worked a crisp two-man game which netted McCain an easy mid-range jumper, before Maxey drove and scored.
Finally, the Sixers could reap the benefits of being the team with a massive talent advantage on its side. A former MVP returning to the floor and spending much of the game dominating will do that for you.
Up next: The Sixers will have four days off before returning to action at home against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
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