Joel Embiid hangs 40 on the Pelicans, Sixers win 124-114 in South Philly
The Sixers played their first game of the Paul George suspension era Saturday night and actually handled business, beating the Pelicans 124-114 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
That wraps up a 3-0 homestand and pushes Philly to 27-21. New Orleans fell to 13-38, which is exactly where you belong when you let Joel Embiid do whatever he wants for 48 minutes.
Embiid was the whole show. He put up a season-high 40 points with 11 rebounds and looked like he was hunting matchups the way a shark hunts blood.
Kelly Oubre Jr. gave Philly real help with 19 points and 10 boards, and Tyrese Maxey had 18 points and eight assists while mostly playing within the flow. Quentin Grimes returned after missing two games with an ankle sprain. George was the only guy unavailable, and that is going to be the story for a while.
Joel Embiid came out like he had something personal against Derik Queen.
The funniest part of the night was Embiid deciding Derik Queen was the opponent. The Pelicans rookie tried to compete, played with confidence, and actually had nine points and six rebounds in 19 minutes.
Embiid went right at him from the jump, taking seven shots in the first five minutes. Late in the second quarter, Embiid drew a foul on Queen that the rookie argued, and Embiid just smiled and shook his head walking to the line like “welcome to the league.”
Joel Embiid: 40 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK
The Pelicans also tried the Zion Williamson thing and got nothing for most of the night. Dominick Barlow started in George’s spot and drew the first assignment. Zion was scoreless at halftime on 0-for-2 shooting and finished with just 11 points. If you’re New Orleans and your franchise guy is a ghost for two quarters, you’re basically cooked.
Nick Nurse also rolled out a new-look rotation, and it matters because this team has to get through 25 games without George. The Sixers went 10 deep and used Jabari Walker and Trendon Watford, two guys who didn’t play in the win over the Kings.
Nurse even ran four bench players next to Maxey late in the first quarter, and the offense looked rough, because of course it did. Maxey had to hit a tightly guarded three just to survive possessions that were dying at the end of the shot clock.
Then Maxey picked up two fouls, sat for an extended stretch, and the Sixers actually held up. Watford initiated offense, Jared McCain hit two threes, and the bench didn’t implode. That is the survival formula. Random guys have to give you functional minutes without turning every game into a disaster.
The Sixers went into halftime up 13, and the night also featured a ceremony honoring the 2000-01 Eastern Conference champion team, which is always a reminder of how much this city still loves the grind era. The third quarter was sloppy, though. Maxey had a frustrating stretch, the Pelicans hung around, and the game started smelling like one of those nights where Philly makes it harder than it needs to be.
Then the fourth quarter got tight. Jose Alvarado hit a three to open the period and Zion finally got going enough to cut the lead to 90-88. The Sixers started piling up fouls, Nurse got hit with a technical, and New Orleans kept getting comfortable looks in transition like Philly was running a layup line.
Embiid’s decision-making was also mixed. He threw a brutal pass out of the post straight to Alvarado for his fifth turnover, and that’s the exact kind of play that turns a win into a collapse.
The Sixers actually closed it, which has not been a guarantee this season.
Down 109-107, Philly ripped off a 7-0 run highlighted by a clean Embiid fadeaway over Yves Missi. Maxey and Embiid hit clutch threes, VJ Edgecombe came up with a timely steal and slammed it, and Edgecombe iced the game with a deep jumper with 21.7 seconds left. No last-second chaos. No nightmare finish. Just a win.
Saddiq Bey dropped 34 for the Pelicans and Trey Murphy III had 19, but this was always going to come down to whether Philly could survive the first night without George. They did, because Embiid went full monster and the supporting cast did enough to keep the floor from collapsing.
Now comes the real part. The Sixers head out for a five-game West Coast trip starting Monday against the Clippers. If you want to get through these 25 games without Paul George, you need more nights like this. Joel Embiid dominance, Oubre energy, Maxey control, and bench guys who don’t play scared.
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