The Sixers play only two games before Dec. 20, and can perhaps finally begin taking legitimate steps to becoming the team they envisioned before its injury-riddled 7-15 start.
Sixers center Joel Embiid played his best game of the season against the Chicago Bulls, scoring 31 points and propelling his team to a 108-100 win.CHICAGO — Joel Embiid’s cold shooting start Sunday made coach Nick Nurse question how the star big man’s first game in more than two weeks would unfold.
Sunday’s performance was a delayed build on Embiid’s Nov. 20 game at the Memphis Grizzlies, when he and Maxey leaned into their dynamic partnership from the previous season. After totaling 10 of his career-high 14 assists to Embiid on Sunday, Maxey reiterated how much “easier” it is to share the court with the big man because defenses cannot trap ball screens and he can make simple decisions based on coverages.
Embiid, however, did not offer much insight during an odd postgame media session that took place nearly 90 minutes after the final buzzer. When asked about that second quarter, Embiid said, “I got lucky.” When asked about the keys to getting his body in a place to play again, he said, “Trust the process.” When asked what he is discovering about playing alongside George, he said, “Just got to get him going.
The next step is more consistently weaving in George, who was coming off two terrific performances earlier in the week, but entering Sunday had played only six minutes alongside Embiid and Maxey. George scored six of his 12 points Sunday in the first quarter, when Embiid and Maxey struggled to find their shots. As the game progressed, George said, he noticed the workload for Embiid and Maxey “wearing those guys out” as the Bulls cut into a 19-point gap to create a relatively tight finish.
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