Joel Embiid plays in crunch time for the first time in Sixers’ season, another step in his cautious recovery

With 7 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter Friday, Joel Embiid stood at the Xfinity Mobile Arena scorer’s table waiting to check back into the 76ers’ matchup against the Boston Celtics.

What used to be routine for the former NBA MVP turned into a key step in Embiid’s return from a knee issue that limited him to 19 games last season. Friday marked the first time he closed a game, missing a potential buzzer-beating three-pointer but compiling three points and two assists during that crunch-time stretch of the Sixers’ 109-108 loss. His minutes total bumped from 20 to 25. His fourth-quarter performance capped a night on which he scored 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting and added six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Embiid acknowledged he was tired down the stretch, using his postgame media availability to again advocate that “that’s why they should let me play more minutes.” But he added, “I guess it’s a good start” to this phase of his road to recovery.

“Until you kind of get in that position, you don’t know what it feels like,” Embiid said from his locker. “… You get used to it. You find your rhythm.”

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Embiid’s three points in the final frame all came at the free-throw line. But his playmaking was impactful. He found Quentin Grimes for a three-pointer that cut Boston’s lead to 105-98 with 3:37 to go. He delivered a pass to Tyrese Maxey for a driving layup to get the Sixers (4-1) within one point with 20.8 seconds left.

But the attention Embiid draws perhaps was most apparent when he called for the ball on a post-up, drew the double-team, and fed rookie VJ Edgecombe for the open three-pointer that cut the Celtics’ advantage to 108-106 with 51.4 seconds to play.

“Just got to stay ready,” Edgecombe said of playing off Embiid, “and be ready to shoot the ball.”

Embiid’s final quarter came at the end of a night on which he was his most visibly animated while playing in this young season. After hanging in the air to convert a shot through contact in the first quarter, he celebrated with his textbook DX chop. When he put a dribble move on Neemias Queta and connected on another and-1 shot in the third quarter, Embiid threw his arm in celebration and pumped up the crowd before heading into a timeout.

It all looked far better than last week’s season opener in Boston, when Embiid went 1-of-9 from the floor and was a team-worst minus-16. Yet Embiid perhaps was most pleased with his physical progress on the defensive end, where “the presence I usually offered in the past, it hasn’t been there, and I know it,” he said. He was adamant that the Sixers must continue to improve in that area, after entering Friday ranked 25th in the league in defensive rating, at 119 points allowed per 100 possessions.

After Friday’s poor start — the Celtics shot 61.5% in the first quarter and built a 24-point lead before halftime — Embiid was encouraged by the Sixers’ turnaround on that end of the floor to fuel multiple comeback efforts.

“It sucks to lose, but I’m actually happy,” Embiid said. “I’m excited about this loss. I think we learned a lot. … I’m excited because I feel like we grew up tonight.”

Embiid’s still-limited minutes meant Adem Bona (two points, three rebounds, two blocks in 11:05) and Andre Drummond (six points, two rebounds, one block in 11:42) received rotation stints in both halves.

Coach Nick Nurse mentioned a desire to play Bona at the beginning of the fourth quarter to “create some defensive energy,” after the second-year big man’s block party down the stretch of the Sixers’ overtime win Wednesday at Washington. Dominick Barlow, who closed last week’s opener at Boston as a small-ball center, still was unavailable Friday because of an elbow laceration that required a procedure earlier this week.

And as Embiid continues to work his way back, he must still build two-man chemistry with ballhandlers Edgecombe and Grimes. Even Maxey, who has been an ideal partner to Embiid for five-plus seasons, acknowledged some mistimed moments with the big man. On one late turnover, Maxey said he was about to shoot until he heard Embiid yell that he was open, so Maxey “tried to throw it to him late.” On another possession, Maxey thought Embiid was going to pop following a screen, but he rolled instead and Maxey threw it behind the center.

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“The biggest thing is you’ve got to slow down [in the pick and roll],” Maxey said. “You’ve got to let it develop. Sometimes it develops differently. Teams do a lot of different things in coverages with Joel because he’s so hard to guard. … You’ve got to know what they’re doing that day, and once you figure that out, it’s pretty easy.

“Sometimes, you just give it to 21, and he shoots it and scores it.”

The Sixers now depart for their first true road trip, playing at the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday (6 p.m., NBCSP) before another back-to-back Tuesday at the Chicago Bulls and Wednesday at the Cleveland Cavaliers. How Embiid’s availability will be handled for those three games is to be determined.

But Friday was another step for Embiid. He was back on the floor for crunch-time minutes of a tight game and hoisted the game’s final shot.

“He’s Joel,” Maxey said. “… He’s played a lot of end-of-game basketball.”