Embiid's career-high night carries 76ers past Suns
PHILADELPHIA -- Joel Embiid scored a career-high 26 points, Nik Stauskas added a season-high 21 points and the Philadelphia 76ers led from start to finish in a 120-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Hollis Thompson contributed 14 points, while Ersan Ilyasova and Gerald Henderson had 11 each for the Sixers (3-10), who opened a five-game homestand with a rare win. Dario Saric scored 10 points and Sergio Rodriguez also had eight points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
Embiid was questionable to even play with a sprained left ankle that was suffered in Thursday's embarrassing loss at Minnesota. But after going through a pregame routine, the Sixers announced that Embiid would indeed start and be limited to 24 minutes.
Embiid had missed four games this season for mandated rest following two lost seasons with a pair of surgeries on his right foot. The 7-foot-2 didn't show any signs of his injury as he hit 9-of-14 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point territory and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in 21 minutes. He added seven rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.
Eric Bledsoe paced the Suns (4-10) with 27 points while Brandon Knight added 12 and Devin Booker had 10. Alan Williams added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Booker was also uncertain whether he would start because of a sprained left ankle. But like Embiid, Booker was in the starting lineup.
Leading by 17 points entering the fourth quarter, the Sixers embarked a 5-0 run.
They never eased up and cruised to the victory.
The Suns crept within 72-66 but the Sixers ripped off 10 straight points to quickly extend their lead to 16. The last basket during the spurt had Rodriguez throwing an alley-oop pass to Stauskas, who threw down a one-hand dunk.
Embiid scorched the Suns for 17 points in the first quarter alone, going 6-for-8 from the field and hitting three of his four 3-pointers. He added four rebounds and one blocked shot in seven very efficient minutes.
Embiid scored 10 of the Sixers' first 12 minutes and they wound up leading 32-19 after the first.
The Suns made a run late in the first half thanks to five straight points from Bledsoe to get within 55-48. Stauskas, who was 4-for-4 in the first half, dropped in a difficult 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining to extend the Sixers' lead back to 10.
Bledsoe led all scorers with 20 points in the first half while Embiid paced the Sixers with 19.
NOTES: Sixers coach Brett Brown said he had a meeting earlier Saturday with injured F-C Nerlens Noel but wouldn't give a timetable for his return. Noel has missed all 13 regular season games after undergoing surgery for an inflamed plica in his left knee. "It was great seeing Nerlens," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "It was a great conversation." ... The Suns were without F T.J. Warren (illness) and C Tyson Chandler (personal reasons). ... Phoenix recalled F Derrick Jones Jr. from the Northern Arizona Suns of the D-League. ... Sixers F Robert Covington has struggled with his shooting most of the season, especially going 9-for-47 over the last five games and 6-for-34 from beyond the arc. "I've thought about bringing Covington off the bench," Brown said. "But I'm not going to do it. Shooters shoot."