Joel Embiid scores 36 points in return from foot soreness as Sixers blow past Detroit Pistons

A collective applause rumbled through the Wells Fargo Center with about four minutes to play in the third quarter Tuesday night, as Joel Embiid walked to the 76ers’ bench.

It’s unclear if the All-NBA center was on a minutes restriction in his return from a three-game absence because of foot soreness. But the overwhelming effort of Embiid and his team — combined with the Detroit Pistons’ putrid play — made that irrelevant.

Embiid’s efficient 36 points and 11 rebounds, along with James Harden’s second consecutive triple-double (16 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds), propelled the Sixers to blow past the shorthanded Pistons, 147-116, in their most overpowering performance of the season.

“We didn’t want to mess around,” Embiid said. “I don’t know about my teammates, but I wanted to make sure that we were all together and on the same page and that it was going to be a three-quarter game. … We did that, so we’ve got to build on that.”

The Sixers (25-15) led by as many as 41 points in the second half by holding the Pistons to 40.4% shooting (they hovered near 30% for the bulk of the first three quarters), out-rebounding Detroit by an eye-popping 55-26 margin and scoring 22 points off turnovers.

Tyrese Maxey added 16 points for the Sixers, while Tobias Harris went 6-of-6 from the floor and finished with 14 points, six rebounds and a plus/minus of plus-40. As a team, the Sixers shot 60.7% from the floor and scored 25 fastbreak points and 82 points in the paint to reach their season-high point total.

Tuesday’s win came on the heels of a Sunday victory in Detroit and clinched the Sixers’ three-game regular-season sweep of the Pistons (11-33). The Sixers will next host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, before embarking on a five-game Western Conference road trip that begins Saturday at the Utah Jazz.

Embiid was efficiently dominant in his return, mixing authoritative finishes at the rim with smooth jumpers while going 12-of-20 from the floor and 11-of-11 from the free-throw line in 24 minutes. He said his foot felt “better than expected” in his first game back, but that the pain has not yet fully dissipated.

“That’s just something you’ve got to manage,” Embiid said. “Over time, it’s going to be fine.”

But the All-NBA center’s re-insertion also meant the starting lineup of Embiid, Harden, Harris, Maxey, and P.J. Tucker clicked back into the place for the first time since an Oct. 29 win at the Chicago Bulls and just the seventh time this season.

De’Anthony Melton (nine points on 1-of-7 from three-point range, five rebounds), back in a sixth-man role after nearly two months as a starting guard, was the first sub — for Maxey — about midway through the first quarter. Georges Niang (zero points on 0-for-1 shooting, three rebounds), Matisse Thybulle (four points in nine minutes), Montrezl Harrell (eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in 14 minutes), and Shake Milton (11 points, seven assists) followed after that, creating a brief stretch with an all-bench lineup before Maxey re-entered late in the first.

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The full starting group was back on the floor with the Sixers up, 42-29, with 6 minutes, 21 seconds to play in the second quarter. They extended that to 62-39 when Embiid finished a driving dunk and hit two free throws with 58.2 seconds remaining before halftime.

“It’s a lineup that we’re still evaluating defensively, because clearly it’s a good offensive lineup,” coach Doc Rivers said of the starting group. “We know that, so if we can be a good defensive lineup with that, as well, it can be really good for us. We just haven’t seen it a lot.”

Danuel House Jr., Paul Reed, Furkan Korkmaz, and Jaden Springer did not play until the fourth quarter when the outcome had long been decided. Springer, who has spent most of his two professional seasons with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats, scored a career-high 10 points in just under nine minutes of court time, much to the delight of the Sixers’ bench.

After Sunday’s win in Detroit, Rivers was publicly wary of facing a motivated Pistons team Tuesday.

But Rivers’ team quickly put those concerns to bed with a fast start. The Sixers led, 14-5, after Harden hit a three-pointer 3:17 into the first quarter — prompting an early timeout by Detroit coach Dwane Casey — and 19-8 when Embiid drilled a trey a little under two minutes later. Harris scored seven of his points during that spurt.

“I don’t know if we would have [done] that earlier, so it’s progress for us,” Harden said. “We knew that they were shorthanded players or whatnot, but it’s not even about them or anybody else. It’s about us. I think we handled it like we were supposed to; came out, took care of business.”

The Pistons made a brief push when a Rodney McGruder three-pointer cut the Sixers’ lead to 33-29 in the second quarter, but Maxey answered with a jumper and a three-pointer to ignite a 15-0 run that essentially put the game out of reach before halftime.

Though rookie center Jalen Duren, a Roman Catholic High School alumnus and 2022 lottery draft pick, did not play Tuesday night, the Pistons’ roster still had plenty of Philly flavor.

Former Sixer Nerlens Noel, who had played in only nine games entering Tuesday while the Pistons worked to develop Duren and Isaiah Stewart, got his first start of the season. He finished with five points and five rebounds.

“That’s my guy,” Embiid said of his former teammate from 2014-17. “Obviously, a lot of good years with him. It’s good playing against him. He got me a few times with him reaching, so I was kind of [ticked] about it because that’s really all he does defensively. But I’m just glad to see him get minutes.”

Villanova product Saddiq Bey, meanwhile, also started after spending most of the season as a sixth or seventh man. He struggled mightily with his shot, missing his first nine attempts and totaling 17 points — helped by going 9-for-9 at the foul line — four rebounds, and two assists. Thirteen of those points came in the fourth quarter.

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