PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is finally back in action for the Philadelphia 76ers. His first game on the court since January resulted in a win over a tough Oklahoma City Thunder team.

In the 109-105 victory, Embiid scored 24 points and added seven assists, six rebounds and three steals to his stat line. Although OKC didn’t have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, Embiid didn’t have Tyrese Maxey to help him in his first game back from a 29-game absence. Despite several signs of unfamiliarity with new teammates and lacking some mobility, Embiid mostly impressed in his return.

Embiid playing 29 minutes was “probably where I thought we would end up” when it was planned before the game, Nick Nurse said. The 76ers head coach was particularly pleased with how the superstar center played on defense.

“He scored some, I thought he passed the ball really well. But, again, when we started amping up our defense in the last six minutes, he was down there,” Nurse said. “Some of those drives didn't look as productive. So that to me is where I thought he really impacted. It was defensively late. But, yeah, he looked pretty good for not playing for a couple of months. That's for sure.”

Embiid wasn’t overly pleased with how he played. While he was ecstatic about getting the win, he thought was “pretty bad” as he continued to work back to the level he was previously at. He gave a shoutout to Kelly Oubre Jr., who scored a game-high 25 points on 8-16 shooting, including 17 points in the fourth quarter.

“Just keep playing together, keep talking to each other. I thought the first three quarters, we were all over the place. We didn't know when to cut, how to cut,” Embiid said. “We got a lot of new guys playing next to me. We haven't played together. And then in the fourth quarter, we actually got better. Kelly, obviously we won the game because of him. But we just started playing so much better off of the double teams that they were sending. I think it's just going to be repetition that every single game. It's a learning experience. We gotta win but we're also learning on the fly.”

The 76ers have to get Embiid familiar with Kyle Lowry, Buddy Hield and Cam Payne as he works his way back. Each of the new guards should have plenty of success with the big man back but with only six more regular season games left, time is scarce.

One thing Embiid did point to was his defense and how he made a huge play late by stealing the ball from Josh Giddey and drawing a foul. “That's why I was happy I got the last stop of the game 'cause I think I'm the best defender in the league,” he said.

Joel Embiid anticipates being available for the 76ers' next game, a road showdown with the Miami Heat, as long as his knee feels okay. He is currently listed as questionable on the injury report.