Sixers big man Joel Embiid had missed out on 29 straight NBA games due to a left meniscus injury and finally made his return to the court against the Thunder on Tuesday night.
Philly dropped from fifth place to eighth in the East during his absence, but picked up right where they left off after getting the 109-105 win against first seed in the West – OKC.
Embiid recorded 24 points, six rebounds, seven assists and six turnovers in 29 minutes.
He thought he played “pretty bad” and didn’t think the rest of the team looked too polished either.
“Just keep playing together, keep talking to each other. I thought the first three quarters, we were all over the place. We didn’t know when to cut, how to cut,” Embiid said. “We got a lot of new guys playing next to me. We haven’t played together. And then in the fourth quarter, we actually got better. Kelly, obviously we won the game because of him. But we just started playing so much better off of the double teams that they were sending. I think it’s just going to be repetition that every single game. It’s a learning experience. We gotta win but we’re also learning on the fly.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse was most impressed by the reigning MVP’s efforts in defense.
“He scored some, I thought he passed the ball really well. But, again, when we started amping up our defense in the last six minutes, he was down there,” Nurse said. “Some of those drives didn’t look as productive. So that to me is where I thought he really impacted. It was defensively late. But, yeah, he looked pretty good for not playing for a couple of months. That’s for sure.”
Embiid was super candid about how deflating his injury was and admitted to having some dark moments during recovery.
“For some reason, this one was disappointing, it was depressing,” Embiid told NBC Sports. “It took me a while to get over it and I still haven’t gotten over it. Just got to take it day by day, look at the positive. I’m back, so hopefully things will get better and I’ll get back to myself.”
Family was his anchor through the two months of no NBA.
“Just looking at their faces, my wife and young (son) Arthur,” he said. … And then obviously, watching the games at night, you get pissed off because you feel like you could help and you could do something.
“But it’s all about family. Basketball obviously means a lot, and I love it and I love to play. It’s the best thing for me. But family also comes first, and that’s the thing that got me through it.”