Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid returned to the lineup Monday against the Houston Rockets after a three-game absence due to a knee injury. Embiid picked up right where he left off, dominating the Rockets to the tune of 41 points and 10 rebounds. By hitting those marks, the Sixers center has now made it 16 consecutive games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the second-longest such streak in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain. He has 17 straight 30-point games overall.

After a competitive start to the game, Embiid and the Sixers took over at the tail end of the first quarter, turning a one-point deficit into a 14-point lead by the end of the frame. Philly pushed the lead out to as many as 28 points in the first half and cruised to a 124-115 victory.

Embiid grabbed his 10th rebound in the fourth quarter and hit the 40-point mark right before checking out for good with about six minutes left. The Sixers star shot 12-of-21 from the field and 16-of-17 from the foul line in this latest monster performance. He added three assists, a steal and a block in 31 minutes of action in his return from injury.

Joel Embiid's MVP quest

Sixers' Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid is trying to repeat as MVP, and he has been just as good if not better this season compared to last. The Sixers big man is leading the NBA in scoring and putting up dominant numbers night after night, averaging 34.6 points per game entering Monday's game.

However, the injuries have started to become something of a concern. Embiid missed time to close out 2023 and then missed more games before this return against Houston. Why this matters when it comes to MVP is he must play in at least 65 games to be eligible for the award. The center has missed 10 games so far this season, so he can only afford to miss seven more games the rest of the way.

If Embiid is able to play 65 games, he's going to have a terrific chance of repeating as MVP. But these health issues will have to be monitored the rest of the way. On Monday, though, he didn't miss a beat as the Sixers moved to 25-13 on the season.