Joel Embiid’s 53 points power Sixers to 131-113 win over Hornets

Things were different when the 76ers had Joel Embiid and James Harden on the court.

The Sixers faced the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 23 without Embiid, Harden, and Tyrese Maxey. And the Hornets feasted in the paint en route to a win.

But on Sunday, it was Embiid feasting on Charlotte and Harden had a near triple-double as the Sixers prevailed, 131-113, at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers improved to 14-12 while Charlotte (7-20) lost for the fifth straight time and for the sixth time in its last seven games.

Embiid finished with a game-high 53 points along with 12 rebounds and one block. Harden added 19 points, a game-high 16 assists, and nine rebounds.

» READ MORE: Dominant scoring nights are becoming routine for Sixers’ Joel Embiid

“I thought the ball just followed me,” Embiid said. “My teammates, James, I thought we moved the ball pretty well and the ball just found me.”

Last season’s NBA scoring champion made 20 of 32 shots, including going 2-for-3 on three-pointers, and made all 11 of his foul shots.

“He was in attack mode for the entire game,” Harden said. “He made scoring look easy tonight. I mean he was just in attack mode getting to the basket, and his jumper was falling.

“He had an aggressive night tonight.”

Meanwhile, Harden was a solid floor general, who finished with a game-best plus-18. The perennial All-NBA selection didn’t try to force anything while playing a game-high 38 minutes, 15 seconds.

He had 12 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds heading into the fourth quarter. However, he grabbed just one rebound in the fourth quarter before exiting the game with the Sixers up, 131-111, with 57.7 seconds left.

Asked if he knew he was one rebound shy of his 70th career triple-double, Harden said, “Unfortunately, I was. ... Unfortunately, I was,” before laughing.

Kelly Oubre Jr. and Terry Rozier paced the Hornets with 29 points each.

Embiid missed the first game against the Hornets in Charlotte with a sprained left foot. Harden was sidelined with a strained tendon in his right foot. And that was one of 11 games that Maxey has missed with a fractured left foot.

Without the trio, the Hornets scored 72 points in the paint and took a 107-101 victory. It was a game where the undermanned Sixers, playing the second game in as many nights without their leading scorers, ran out of gas.

Embiid made sure that didn’t happen Sunday night.

He scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach before exiting with 2:14 remaining. Earlier, Embiid tallied 20 points in the second quarter.

His 53 points were his second-highest point total of the season. Embiid had a career-high 59 against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 13.

He’s the only NBA player with multiple 50-point performances this season. Embiid is also the first Sixer with multiple 50-point games in a season since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson had three during the 2004-05 season.

Embiid, Iverson, and Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain are the only Sixers to have multiple 50-point games in a season.

Asked how it felt to achieve those feats, Embiid said, “I don’t know.”

“We won,” he added. “It’s good to do that when you win. It would [stink] to have that type of scoring night if you lose. I was just happy it’s contributing to winning.”

This is also the fourth time Embiid has scored at least 40 points this season. He has now scored at least 30 points in 12 of the 18 games he’s played this season.

Embiid dominated Mason Plumlee and whomever else guarded him in the second quarter. The five-time All-Star got his 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting along with making all seven of his foul shots.

His first basket of the quarter came on a three-pointer that knotted the score at 33 with 7:51 left before intermission. Embiid’s next basket was a 13-foot jumper before making a pair of foul shots.

The foul shots were the first of 15 straight points scored by Embiid to give the Sixers a 61-52 lead with 31.2 seconds remaining before intermission. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder scored three straight three-point plays during that stretch.

“We have a saying that you got to feed the hot hand,” Embiid said. “My teammates, if I just score once, it doesn’t matter; anybody on the team, if they just score once, you got to keep feeding them until the defense stops them once, or twice or three times. In that situation, I kept scoring. And they just kept giving me the ball.”

Maxey was originally expected to miss three to four weeks when he suffered the injury against the Bucks on Nov. 18. Four weeks from the date of that injury is next weekend.

The Sixers host the Golden State Warriors on Friday and entertain the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 19.

Doc Rivers said Wednesday that Maxey was able to run, but not sprint. He started shooting the ball last Monday.

“I don’t know about the sprint part, but he’s doing more,” Rivers said. “But I think this week will be a big week for him, you know, as far as when he’ll be able to come back.”

Asked specifically what he’ll do this week to make that determination, Rivers responded, “Play basketball.”

“I’m totally serious,” the coach said. “I’m not joking. I mean, right now, he’s done nothing competitive. He’s just running and jumping. I don’t even know if he’s jumping yet.

“So we’re obviously not going to put him on the floor until he can play in a pickup game or two-on-two, and he’s not been able to do that. So until he gets to that point, he’s going to be out.”

» READ MORE: An experienced Sixers squad has struggled in clutch situations lately. What gives?

The Sixers held a moment of silence Sunday night for former Hornets coach Paul Silas, who died earlier in the day.

Silas compiled a 387-488 record during 12 seasons as an NBA coach, guiding the San Diego Clippers, Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Charlotte Bobcats.

Before that, he played 16 seasons with five teams. A true power forward, Silas won three NBA titles, two with the Boston Celtics and another with Seattle SuperSonics.

“I hope he’s remembered, first of all, as a great player,” Rivers said. " … You look at a Paul Silas. He was an enforcer. He was nothing but toughness. Then, when you look at him as a man, he was the most gentle human being, the most honest human being. We need more of those in our league.

“For guys that didn’t know him, he was just the greatest guy.”