The Phantom of the Process: Embiid returns to dominance, Sixers beat the Charlotte Hornets (again), 108-98 final

Masked Embiid – The Sixers’ season has been a tale of two records: 4-0 against the Charlotte Hornets and a dismal 5-16 against everyone else. If they could just play Charlotte every night, they’d look like contenders.

Friday night’s 108-98 win over the Hornets kept their perfect streak alive in the matchup and gave Philly fans a glimpse of what could be—if only this team could stay healthy and consistent.

Joel Embiid made his return after missing a game with a sinus fracture, and the man came out masked up and ready to dominate. Rocking his “Phantom of the Opera” look, Masked Embiid dropped 34 points on 12-of-24 shooting, dished out nine assists, and swatted away two shots in just 31 minutes.

The Process wasn’t just back—he was in control in only his seventh game of the season thanks to a nagging knee issue. As we all knew already, when Embiid’s on the court, Philly feels like a different team.

JOEL EMBIID: 34 PTS | 9 AST | 2 BLK | 2 STL

2⃣1⃣ was feeling it last night.

34 PTS | 9 AST | 2 BLK | 2 STL @PALottery pic.twitter.com/NkumDyJ5B4

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024

Tyrese Maxey was consistent last night, something we have rarely seen this season. Clearly, Embiid on the court helps with spacing and Maxey delivered with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including four triples in the first quarter.

Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in 22 points with a hyper-efficient 8-of-10 shooting night, showing that Philly’s supporting cast can step up when it counts.

shoutout @KELLYOUBREJR 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/7HUpNduxzz

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024

The only downside would be Paul George. The third piece of the Sixers’ “Big Three,” couldn’t find his rhythm, scoring just five points on 2-of-12 shooting. I don’t find that to be concerning. These guys have barely played together and it will take time building that chemistry.

The Sixers set the tone early, racing to an 18-point lead in the first quarter behind Maxey’s hot hand and a team-wide shooting clinic (56% from the field).

They coasted from there, keeping Charlotte at arm’s length despite a 20-point effort from Vasilije Micic, who led the Hornets in yet another frustrating loss. Charlotte has now dropped 12 of their last 13 games and sat LaMelo Ball for this one as they “manage” his left calf injury.

Looking Ahead:

The Sixers have barely been healthy this season, yet they’re still hanging around in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. How? Because, quite frankly, the Eastern Conference outside of the Boston Celtics is a dumpster fire.

Everyone else is mediocre at best, and yes, that includes the Cleveland Cavaliers. Say what you want about them, but I couldn’t care any less about that team. They’re about as threatening as a soggy pretzel, and until they prove otherwise, they’re just background noise in the East.

Philadelphia is on a mini hot streak, winning four of their last five games to improve to 9-16. That’s still well under .500, but with the play-in tournament in sight, there’s hope for this squad—if they can stay healthy.

Embiid summed it up best: “If I can be on the floor even at 50 percent, I’m gonna try to do that.”

Next Up:

Next up? A trip to Cleveland on Saturday. If Philly can pull off another win, maybe they can start turning their season around. If not, at least they’ve still got the Hornets on speed dial.

Not Dead Yet – Mask Up, Philly:

had to mask up for the post-game interview! pic.twitter.com/k9aKOuIely

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024

Join The Chase