Embiid drops 34 in return from sinus fracture, helps 76ers hold off Hornets

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid returned for Friday's contest against the Charlotte Hornets and scored a game-high 34 points in the 76ers' 108-98 victory.

Embiid missed one game over the last week due to a sinus fracture amid a light 76ers schedule. Donning a face mask for protection, he started and played 31 minutes, shooting 12-of-24 from the field (2-of-4 from deep), adding nine assists, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

He did the bulk of his damage in the second half, scoring 12 points apiece in the third and fourth quarters. He helped Philadelphia avert a Hornets comeback in the final frame, during which Charlotte cut the 76ers' lead to just four after trailing by 23 in the third.

Immediately following Friday's win, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said that he expects Embiid won't play Saturday against the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, according to PhillyVoice's Adam Aaronson.

The All-Star big man sustained the sinus injury last Friday against the Indiana Pacers after he was inadvertently hit in the face by Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin.

Friday's win over the Hornets was just Embiid's seventh game of the campaign as he's struggled with lingering knee problems and served a three-game suspension. It was just his third contest with 30 or more points so far in 2024-25; by Dec. 20 last season, he had already eclipsed that mark in 19 of 24 games played.

The 30-year-old won a gold medal for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics but was forced to sit out the first nine games of the season with swelling in his surgically repaired left knee.

The former MVP entered Friday averaging 20.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists this year.

Philadelphia won its previous game without Embiid, a 121-108 win over the Hornets on Monday night. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George combined for 73 points in the victory.

The Sixers are now 9-16 but remain 12th in the Eastern Conference.