Joel Embiid shines in return from ‘tricky’ and ‘painful’ oblique injury, just in time for Sixers’ stretch run

On Joel Embiid’s first touch of Wednesday’s 76ers matchup against the Chicago Bulls, he stepped into a three-pointer from the right wing.

Then, he hit two textbook midrange jumpers, and finished at the rim while falling down.

And when he buried another deep shot from the top of the key, Embiid and several teammates on the bench held up their right wrist in celebration.

“I just shot the ball, and it went in,” Embiid said. “I guess it kept going in, so I was like, ‘Let’s keep shooting.’”

Less than four minutes on the game clock had ticked off, and Embiid had already amassed 12 points by making all five shot attempts. He finished the Sixers’ lopsided 157-137 victory over the lowly Bulls at Xfinity Mobile Arena with 35 points, six rebounds, and seven assists in 28 minutes, anchoring an offense that reached its highest single-game point total since 1970.

It was one of Embiid’s better performances in a first game back from an injury absence, this time a strained oblique he called “very tricky” and “still very painful” nearly a month later. Still, Embiid said he feels “good enough” to play down the stretch of the regular season, during which he will be tasked with helping the Sixers rebuild momentum in a tight postseason chase with nine games remaining.

“I’ve been through it way too much,” Embiid said of his latest injury recovery. “So same story: get back up, put the work in, and come back.”

Embiid acknowledged his oblique is “not where it is supposed to be” and that perhaps it will not fully heal until he can rest during the offseason. For now, coughing hurts and sneezing feels even worse, as if the muscle in his side has reverted back to the moment the injury occurred during a Feb. 26 win against the Miami Heat.

“There’s really nothing you can do about it,” Embiid added in his first public comments in more than a month. “Just got to let it ride and hope that it doesn’t get worse.”

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It is the latest ailment in another Embiid season peppered with various injuries. He was dismissive when asked about the health of both knees, saying they “haven’t been an issue for a long time” despite having ice bags strapped to them following Wednesday’s game.

Before hurting his oblique, Embiid also was dealing with a stress reaction in his shin that he compared to an electric shock. Holding up that wrist on those three-point celebrations Wednesday, meanwhile, drew attention to a wrap, of sorts. Embiid acknowledged after the game that “something happened” to that body part, but offered no further details.

Still, Embiid’s on-court production Wednesday resembled the player who, while appearing in 20 of 25 games from Dec. 23 through Feb. 7, averaged 30 points on 52.7% shooting, along with eight rebounds and 4.5 assists.

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The former NBA Most Valuable Player made 12 of 17 shots against the Bulls, from all three levels of the floor. He distributed the ball to teammates, including five third-quarter assists. During that same period, Embiid elevated for an emphatic one-handed dunk that caused teammates to leap out of their bench chairs.

Embiid’s presence also unlocked a Sixers offense that shot 58.9% from the floor in the three quarters he played, even with All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey still sidelined with a pinkie tendon sprain.

Coach Nick Nurse was thrilled with the Sixers’ ball and body movement when Embiid was double-teamed, resulting in cuts, kick-out passes, and a 16-of-27 mark from three-point range.

Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe remained efficient while shifting back from top scoring option to offensive complement, with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting along with six assists and six rebounds. Starting wing Paul George went on a 9-for-12 second-half heater — and finished with 28 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals — in his return from a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.

“It just settled us,” George said of Embiid’s hot start. “We knew we had a guaranteed basket, and we just knew how to balance the floor, get spacing together. …

“That’s Jo. He can get hot in a second. He’s just got the game figured out. [It was] so easy to get to his spots, and he just stays aggressive all night.”

It was all further evidence that, after posting a 13-12 record since George was suspended on Jan. 31, perhaps the Sixers are getting healthier at the right time. Maxey is scheduled to be reevaluated in about a week. Starting wing Kelly Oubre Jr., who has missed the past eight games with an elbow sprain, has been cleared to resume on-court activities and participated in Wednesday’s shootaround.

The Sixers (40-33) will welcome any reinforcements while jostling for positioning in a crowded Eastern Conference. Wednesday’s victory kept them in seventh place: one game back of the fifth-place Atlanta Hawks, a half-game behind the sixth-place Toronto Raptors, and one game ahead of the eighth-place Heat.

When asked about his path forward, including if he will be cleared to play in both games of the Sixers’ two remaining back-to-backs, Embiid said, “I’m just following whatever plan we have. … Whatever they tell me, I guess that’s what I’m going to do.”

Yet Wednesday marked a productive return from the star big man’s latest injury, despite its tricky and painful nature that Embiid continues to manage.

And that, in Embiid’s words, is “good enough” for the Sixers’ stretch run.

“I’m ready,” Embiid said. “So I feel OK. It’s time to go and try to win some games. Wherever we end up, we end up.”