Joel Embiid returned from an eight-game absence to score 33 points and grab 12 rebounds as the host Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Indiana Pacers 106-89.
Embiid had been out with a sore left knee but came back to post his league-best 49th double-double of the season as the Sixers snapped a two-game losing streak.
Joel Embiid uses the shot-fake and tosses it up… AND-1!#HereTheyCome 85#Pacers 76
📺: #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/WcXz3FL00B— NBA (@NBA) March 10, 2019
Tobias Harris added 16 points and Ben Simmons had 15. With the win, the Sixers moved into third place in the Eastern Conference, holding a tiebreaker over the Pacers.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pacers with 18 points while Darren Collison added 14. Domantas Sabonis returned after missing the last five games with a sprained left ankle to add nine points, six rebounds and six assists.
Having held a 14-point lead during the first half, the Pacers went cold late in the third and missed 12 consecutive shots at one point. As a result, the Sixers were able to nip at Indiana’s lead and get within 70-69 with 3:16 remaining.
🔔 @JoelEmbiid goes for 33 PTS, 12 REB, guiding the @sixers to victory in his return to the floor! #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/CEBaUSAzfN— NBA (@NBA) March 10, 2019
After several empty possessions by both teams, the Sixers pulled ahead 72-70 at the end of the quarter and then scored the first eight points of the fourth for an 80-70 advantage, before comfortably closing out the victory.
this is absurd.@JoelEmbiid | #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/UxvFI12eBm— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 11, 2019