Ben Simmons, Sixers dunk San Antonio Spurs in front of 3,071 fans at Wells Fargo Center

Welcome Back Night was a success for the 76ers.

Sunday marked the Sixers’ first home game with paying fans in attendance since last season was shut down on March 11, 2020, due to the pandemic. The sellout crowd of 3,071 at Wells Fargo Center brought an energy not felt in the team’s first 19 home games.

Sixers forward Tobias Harris addressed the fans in pregame and the team honored them with a “Welcome Back” video tribute before beating the San Antonio Spurs, 134-99.

The victory improved the Sixers’ record to 27-12, a full game of the Brooklyn Nets for first place in the Eastern Conference. They also extended their winning streak to five games, tying their season best. The Sixers have won their three games after the All-Star break by an average of 27.6 points.

Sixers coach Doc Rivers said he didn’t know that fans were going to be in the arena.

“Man, when they were there and you walked out, it was awesome,” he said. “I thought their noise, their spirit, I thought it got our guys excited. It’s amazing how much we missed the fans, and particularly miss our fans.

“So I thought our crowd came like they hadn’t been to a game, either. They couldn’t wait to cheer. Fortunately, we gave them something to cheer. It was just an excellent atmosphere.”

This night marked the return of Ben Simmons and the Sixers’ first game without Joel Embiid since his knee injury on Friday against the Washington Wizards. Embiid is expected to be out for a few weeks.

Simmons finished with 14 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and a steal one day after clearing the NBA’s health and safety protocols. With his team up 33 points, Simmons and the other Sixers starters sat out the fourth quarter.

The three-time All-Star missed the March 7 All-Star Game, Thursday’s game at Chicago and Friday’s contest at Washington due to coming in contact with a barber who tested positive for COVID-19. Simmons had to quarantine for seven days following his last exposure to him.

» READ MORE: Can the Sixers survive this upcoming stretch without Joel Embiid?

The point guard was cleared to resume basketball activities after receiving a lab-based PCR negative result on Saturday. It was his seventh straight day of testing negative. He had a hard workout that day and another one Sunday morning in preparation for the game.

“It was disappointing more so because I got a haircut in the morning [of March 6], flew to Atlanta [for the All-Star Game],” Simmons said of being in quarantine. “I was notified there was an inconclusive test with my barber.”

While locked in his room, Simmons learned the morning of the All-Star Game that his barber tested positive and received an additional positive test. He headed back to the Philly area in the evening and quarantined at home.

“He sent me a text and felt bad,” Simmons said of his barber. “But you know, it is what it is. It’s a crazy time right now. He’s still my barber, for sure. He’s got those fresh lineups.”

His presence was a welcomed addition.

It took a little time to find his own shot, missing both of his shot attempts in the first quarter. At one point in the second quarter, Simmons had six assists while shooting 1-for-4 from the field. But his second basket came on an 8-foot hook shot. Then he scored the team’s next basket on a transition dunk. After a Harris jumper, he scored on a 4-foot hook shot.

The Sixers took a 60-52 lead into the half. Simmons had nine points, seven assists, four rebounds and one steal. He and his teammates went on to build a commanding 42-point cushion on Matisse Thybulle’s three-pointer with 9 minutes, 31 seconds left in the game.

The Sixers shot 57.1% from the field, including making 15 of 29 three-pointers. Fourteen different players scored.

“We just looked like we were playing with pace, moving the ball and playing with each other,” Simmons said. “I think it was good overall. I think we were just finding the open man.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked before the game if Simmons has to shoot from the perimeter to become an elite player in this league. The fourth-year veteran has made 2 of 7 three-pointers this season and 4 of 31 for his career.

“Well ... it would enhance his game, obviously,” Popovich said. “That can’t be argued with. But, all of his skills, I mean physical skills, basketball skills, the way he understands the game, as unselfish as he is, he’s so elite already. Who [cares] if he can’t shoot?”

On this night, the Sixers had a balanced attack with Harris (23 points), Seth Curry (21 points), Danny Green (16), and reserves Furkan Korkmaz (16) and Matisse Thybulle (10) as the other double-digit scorers.

Harris actually had one of his best all-around performances.

In addition to his game-high points, he had nine rebounds, a season-high-tying seven assists and finished a game-best plus-36. The Sixers also improved to 17-3 this season when he scores 20-or-more points.

The Sixers have also thrived as he’s been more of a facilitator in recent games.

This marked the third time that he’s had seven assists in the past eight games. He’s had four or more asssists in five of those games.

“For me, it’s just been seeing how the defense is playing,” Harris said. “With Joel out there sometimes, we always have to read how they are grading the pick-and-roll. Sometimes, they stay with him, which is easier for me to get to the lane. Other times, he picks and pops a litle bit.

“I’ve been playing with Tony [Bradley] and Dwight [Howard], I just been able to get that pocket pass. We talked about it at the beginning of the season just the evolution of being a good pick-and-roll player is being able to knock down the mid-range [jumper], finish down the lane, and then make plays out of it.”

His ability to get to the basket opened up things for other shooters.

The Sixers were fine without Embiid, who suffered a bone bruise while hyperextending his left knee on Friday against the Wizards. The four-time All-Star will be sidelined for two to three weeks. He and the Sixers are fortunate that Saturday morning’s MRI determined that there’s no structural damage to his knee.

“Obviously, I was pretty happy with the news,” Rivers said. “You know, it looked bad, but obviously we never know. That’s what I saying that night. So we had to wait and see, and it turned out in our favor.”

Seldom-used center Bradley (four points, eight rebounds, and four assists) started in place of Embiid for the third time this season. The Sixers will probably stay with him in the lineup. Rivers said they are going to move the starting assignment around in regard to starting Bradley or backup Howard (eight points, eight rebounds and, one block). Howard started in four of the games Embiid missed this season. Rivers doesn’t have a problem going back to that.

“None of them are going to be Joel,” Rivers said. “We understand that. So we’re just going to move it around to see what works.”

The Spurs were without LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan. Aldridge is not with the team, as San Antonio is attempting to trade the post player. Meanwhile, DeRozan is away due to personal reasons.

But this night was about the Sixers’ fans, and the energy that they provided. The Sixers have played several roads in front of fans.

“The Wells Fargo 3,000 was completely different to Phoenix, Utah and Orlando,” Simmons said. “This was completely different. It feels like a full packed arena, honestly, for us. The fans have been amazing throughout all of this. I’m glad that they came back and enjoyed the game.”