Sixers finally holding — and extending — leads without Joel Embiid on the floor

The 76ers continue to show growth under new coach Nick Nurse.

He inherited a team that couldn’t hold leads when Joel Embiid left the floor. But that was far from the case in Saturday’s 112-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns at the Wells Fargo Center.

With Embiid on the bench, the Sixers not only kept their fourth-quarter lead, they extended it and held off Phoenix All-Star Kevin Durant. That enabled Nurse to rest Embiid for the entire quarter.

» READ MORE: Why Nick Nurse wants to see more aggression from Tyrese Maxey despite a hot start

“I think really the last three games that I played,” Embiid said of his teammates closing out games, “even the last game I played, the game was kind of out of reach by the time [he came back in]. So it’s great.

“It’s great for us. Guys are doing great. Guys are finding the way. And I think it’s going to help us in the long run.”

The Sixers offense revolved heavily around Embiid the last two seasons. Embiid and former Sixers point guard James Harden dominated the ball in the pick-and-roll while teammates stood around.

Out of rhythm, Embiid’s teammates mostly struggled when he was out of the game. But Nurse implemented a new free-flowing offense to keep everyone involved. And it’s working.

The Sixers (4-1) are the only team in NBA history to have four players average at least 20 points through the first five games of the season.

Embiid is fifth in the league in scoring at 29.4 points per game and Tyrese Maxey is tied for 10th at 26.2 points. Meanwhile, Kelly Oubre Jr. averages 21.0 points and Tobias Harris sits at 20.0.

» READ MORE: Sixers vs. Suns takeaways: Kelly Oubre Jr. signing paying off; Joel Embiid’s scoring dominance hard to match

That diversity was key to their win Saturday, when the Sixers took an 80-75 lead into the fourth quarter. The closest the Suns would get was 84-80 after Durant’s tip dunk 1 minute, 56 seconds into the quarter.

But the Sixers responded with a 20-6 run to build a commanding 18-point lead with 5:32 remaining. Comfortably maintaining their double-digit lead, there was no need for Embiid to return.

As a result, the reigning MVP finished with team highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds in just 30:57.

“That’s going to help us in the long run, guys finding themselves and guys believing in themselves,” Embiid said. “Being on the court without me as the season goes is going to help us.”

The Sixers entertain the Washington Wizards at 7 p.m. Monday. At 1-4, the Wizards have the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Kyle Kuzma is Washington’s leading scorer at 22.8 points. Jordan Poole, whom the Wizards acquired in an offseason trade from the Golden State Warriors, is averaging 17.6 points.

The Sixers and Washington split last season’s four meetings.