Sixers rally after Joel Embiid’s ejection to defeat San Antonio Spurs behind Tyrese Maxey’s 32 points

Joel Embiid lost his cool and was ejected.

Andre Drummond had his ejection rescinded only to miss the second half with a contusion of his left big toe. Yet, the 76ers held on to get a much-needed victory over a team with a winning record.

Monday’s 111-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at the Wells Fargo Center was indeed one of the wackiest games of the season.

“I thought it was amazing,” Tyrese Maxey said. “Great game. It was lit. It was fun.”

» READ MORE: Sixers star Joel Embiid is ejected from Spurs game after arguing an offensive foul call

Maxey finished with game highs of 32 points and 10 rebounds to go along with eight assists. He scored 12 of the Sixers’ 27 fourth-quarter points.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been a totally joyous moment.

That’s because the victory improved the Sixers to 10-17 overall and 2-13 in contests against teams with winning records heading into Monday. Their other victory over a winning team was a 102-94 decision over the visiting Orlando Magic on Dec. 6.

But Monday’s accomplishment turned out to be nothing more than a footnote.

Embiid’s ejection was the main storyline.

The 7-foot-2 center left the game with 2 minutes, 59 seconds left in the first half after charging after referee Jenna Schroeder.

» READ MORE: Sixers remain the NBA’s most confusing team

Embiid was called for an offensive foul when he collided with Spurs center Victor Wembanyama on his way to the basket. After getting up, Embiid went over to Schroeder to voice his displeasure with the call. He became agitated and followed Schroeder around the court and had to be restrained by teammates, coaches, and staff members, leading to his ejection.

“He was given two unsportsmanlike technical fouls which by rule is an automatic ejection,” crew chief Curtis Blair said following the game.

But did Embiid make contact with Schroeder while hovering over her that could lead to a suspension?

“After postgame review there is incidental contact with both of them, but it was incidental in nature,” Blair said. “There was nothing that warranted any further punishment. It was just incidental in nature.”

Embiid finished with nine points on 2-for-8 shooting to go with three rebounds, one assist and three fouls in 14:22 of playing time.

Before then, Drummond had been momentarily ejected early in the second quarter.

The referee felt the Sixers’ backup center made contact with Wembanyama, leading to the Spurs standout landing on the floor. But after the play was reviewed, Wembanyama was called for a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul for flopping. As a result, Maxey was awarded a foul shot and Drummond was reinstated into the game.

“Just stepped on my foot and I fell,” Wembanyama said. “That’s it. I just got tripped. I didn’t mean to fall. I didn’t expect the foul to be called. I just fell.”

» READ MORE: Sixers-Spurs takeaways: Tyrese Maxey saves the day, Victor Wembanyama's defensive presence

After a second review, the referees were in agreement with Wembanyama and later rescinded his flopping penalty and took Maxey’s foul shot off the scoreboard.

“It was deemed incidental contact,” Blair said.

Tensions were high after Drummond shoved Wembanyama to the floor twice moments earlier. That led to Drummond’s technical foul. During a break in action, Drummond got in the 7-foot-4 standout’s face and called him soft. That happened moments before stepping on his foot.

Drummond, who had two points and three rebounds, sat out the second half with his toe contusion. The Sixers also lost KJ Martin in the second half with left foot soreness. Meanwhile, Yabusele was called for a technical in the fourth quarter for handing on the rim after a dunk.

Embiid, Drummond, and Martin were not available for comment after the game.

The Sixers blew a 15-point cushion. But after the lead seesawed a coupled of times, Maxey’s three-pointer with 29.8 seconds left gave the Sixers a 107-103 cushion. Then the All-Star point guard grabbed the defensive rebound off a Spurs miss and was fouled on the ensuing possession.

Maxey split the free throws and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored on a putback to put the Sixers up seven. Paul George added 19 points and nine rebounds. Meanwhile, Guerschon Yabusele added 17 points while making 6 of 8 shots — including going 3-for-5 on three-pointers.

Wembanyama paced the Spurs with 26 points, nine rebounds, and a game-high eight blocks.

The Sixers will head to Boston for their Christmas Day game against the Celtics at the TD Garden (5 p.m., 6abc).