Joel Embiid had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his return from a sprained right ankle, Tyrese Maxey scored 21 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 110-97 on Tuesday night.
Embiid missed all four games on the 76ers’ holiday road trip, and they went 2-2.
One of those games was in Chicago just three nights earlier, a 105-92 loss in which the Sixers never led in the second half.
Embiid is the reigning NBA MVP for a reason. With the big man back, the Sixers turned this into an early blowout against a Bulls team that had played well recently without injured guard Zach LaVine.
LaVine can return to the lineup as early as Friday.
Even the two-time All-Star wouldn’t have helped much in this one as the Bulls fell to 10-6 this season without him.
His return came in the form of a 32-point triple-double, his second of the season, doing so in only three quarters of play, along with notable performances from Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris, with the partnership combining for 41 points.
While Embiid came back, De’Anthony Melton made a trip to the bench, for only the second time this season, as he suffered from soreness in his lower spine.
Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse opted to use Kelly Oubre Jr. as a replacement for Melton, with the 28-year-old putting up 16 points, while managing to be quite the threat on the defensive end, recording three steals against the Bulls.
It appears that Oubre Jr may be slated for another start as Melton continues to be listed as out due to lower spine soreness.
The second straight absence takes away from what has been an up year for the 25-year-old, as he is averaging a career-high 12 points per game, while also averaging 2.8 steals over his previous four games.
