3 observations after Sixers ride hot start to victory in masked Embiid’s return

3 observations after Sixers ride hot start to victory in masked Embiid’s return originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Joel Embiid made a triumphant, masked return Friday night.

Wearing a black protective mask a week after suffering a sinus fracture, Embiid led the Sixers to a 108-98 win at Wells Fargo Center over the Hornets.

He had 34 points, nine assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Three Sixers hit the 20-point mark in Embiid, Tyrese Maxey (23 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (22).

The Sixers were without Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery) and Caleb Martin (right shoulder impingement). LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller were among the five Charlotte players sidelined.

At 9-16, the Sixers now have 44.4 percent of their wins this season against the Hornets, who went winless in the four-game season series. Charlotte fell to 7-21.

The Sixers will visit the Eastern-Conference leading Cavs on Saturday night. Here are observations on their fourth and final victory of the season against the Hornets:

Star trio clicks out of the gates 

In the first minute or two, it appeared Embiid might take a little while to adapt to playing with a mask for the third time in his career. He missed mid-range jumpers on the Sixers’ first two plays.

However, Embiid and the Sixers were soon off and rolling. He got a layup off a sharp two-man action with Paul George and then scored an and-one hoop in the post. Embiid pulled his mask down to shoot the free throw and polish off the three-point play.

When Charlotte decided to double team Embiid hard, crisp passes from Embiid and George set Oubre up for a corner three.

The Sixers’ stars gelled very nicely with both designed and unscripted two-man and three-man actions. Maxey sunk a three off a between-the-legs Embiid feed to lift the Sixers to a 23-8 lead. When George was doubled in the post, he made the simple kick-out pass to Maxey on the wing and notched his fourth assist of the opening quarter.

Almost nothing went wrong for Maxey and the Sixers during a 41-point first period. Maxey played the whole first quarter, racked up 15 points and drained 4 of 6 three-pointers.

Sixers cool off, let Hornets stay in it

The Sixers used a 10-player rotation and began the second quarter with George alongside four bench players.

The lone bench player sitting to start the second was Ricky Council IV, who’d done strong work in the first. Council chipped in seven points on 3-for-3 shooting in the first quarter, including a powerful, crowd-pleasing slam and a corner three.

When the Sixers subbed Andre Drummond out for Oubre, Guerschon Yabusele played briefly at center in the second quarter. The Sixers posted Yabusele up the play after that sub and he muscled through Miles Bridges to score an and-one bucket that put the Sixers up 20 points.

From there, the Sixers’ offense crashed back to earth. George turned the ball over on a head-scratching cross-court pass and then had a layup blocked by Cody Martin. The Sixers scored 17 points in the second quarter and their stars totaled just four, all of which came within the final minute.

The dramatic dip in outside shooting efficiency was unsurprising, but the Sixers were also much less precise with their passing, spacing and overall offensive structure. They allowed Charlotte to hang around in a game that could perhaps have become a serious blowout by halftime.

Embiid, Sixers eventually slam the door shut

Embiid found his groove as a scorer in the third quarter, knocking down two mid-range jumpers and a three. In his seventh game of the season, Friday was Embiid’s first outing with multiple made threes. He also went 5 for 6 at the foul line in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, George followed up his 33-point night in Monday’s win over the Hornets with a rough shooting game — five points, 2 for 12 from the field. He did record 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

Though the Sixers led by as many as 23 points in the third quarter, Charlotte again prevented them from running away with the game. An Oubre runner at the third-quarter buzzer gave the Sixers an 85-71 lead. He again played very well against his former team. Over this week’s two matchups with the Hornets, Oubre shot 15 for 21 from the floor.

Sealing a win early in the fourth quarter and letting Embiid finish the evening on the bench would obviously have been ideal for the Sixers. That’s not close to what unfolded.

The George-plus-bench lineup was poor to start the fourth. After George missed a contested jumper late in the shot clock, DaQuan Jeffries drilled a three to cut the Hornets’ deficit to 89-83. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse called timeout, re-inserting Embiid and Oubre.

The building soon roared into life. Embiid stripped Bridges inside and then raised his arms in the air as Yabusele stormed forward on a fast break. He apparently sensed something big was coming. Yabusele threw down what may be the Sixers’ best dunk of the season yet. The 29-year-old Frenchman jammed in a giant slam on Jeffries, who tried to take a charge in vain.

Embiid commanded the game on both ends down the stretch. He scored a lefty layup created by a slick, convincing pump fake inside and made a tricky, graceful finger roll.

When Embiid, Maxey and George have played a game from start to finish, the Sixers are now 2-0.