The Philadelphia 76ers (25-13) faced off with the Houston Rockets (19-20) for some afternoon hoops on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Joel Embiid returned and the Sixers once again won, 124-115.

Let’s break down the Sixers' win.

76ers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 41 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 12-21 FG shooting

The big man returned to the lineup after three absences and hardly missed a beat. He posted a cool 13 points in the opening frame and played game-changing defense in the paint. Although he got himself up to five fouls midway through the third quarter, this was a super encouraging return performance from the big man, who was able to keep his minutes to just 31.

Kevin Durant tweeted mid-game that all Embiid needs to completely dominate a game is three quarters. Even though Embiid did return in the fourth to seemingly A) let him get his 30-10 streak going and B) fortify the lead, the essence of the tweet was as right as ever.

Tyrese Maxey: 27 points, 1 rebound, 7 assists, 8-18 FG shooting

After cooking the Rockets in Houston without Embiid, Maxey was not pumping out unreal finishes on layups. His shooting inside the arc was rather bad, in fact. But he was firing away from deep, connecting on six of his 10 attempts from long range. It wasn’t his best game and he has a bit of reacclimating to do with Embiid after his absence. But he got the job done nonetheless.

Patrick Beverley: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3-8 FG shooting

Beverley can often display an innate ability to get the 76ers into their offense, even if he isn’t going into takeover mode himself. But the poise he instilled into his lineups and his ability to still score on drives with change-of-pace layups and short hooks gave Philly a huge leg up over one of his former squads.

Rockets player notes:

Alperen Sengun: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 7-15 FG shooting

Sengun had his way on offense when Embiid rested, as the big man rumbled downhill through the smaller Sixers. But Embiid sizing him up made him vulnerable to poke-away steals. The star big man had a fine performance overall — clearly serving as a consistent source of offense for the Rockets while also struggling to lead them to a competitive game despite solid shooting performances from many of his teammates.

Game recap:

1st half

The 76ers faced another back-to-back scheduling of their games, though they were afforded some extra rest time for the second game due to the afternoon tip-off of the first. Nurse didn’t think it would throw the team off rhythm as they faced a Rockets team looking to reclaim a winning record. Houston head coach Ime Udoka saw Embiid, who he coached for one season as an assistant, going up against his current star big man.

De'Anthony Melton was out this game, putting Kelly Oubre Jr. back into the starting lineup. Nico Batum took Fred VanVleet while Kelly Oubre Jr. guarded Jalen Green. The Rockets, who had VanVleet on Maxey, got off to a rocky start. Udoka called timeout after 77 seconds of playing time that included two Houston turnovers and a 5-0 Philly run.

Embiid drew a ton of defensive attention from Houston, who knew Sengun needed help to contain the big man. Although Sengun did draw a charge, the Rockets tried to cut off the middle of the floor to Embiid, who still made three of his first four shots. On the other end, Maxey picked up a pair of early fouls. Despite the strong start and some great off-ball defense from Kelly Oubre Jr. (three steals in the first quarter) and Batum (two steals), Houston took the lead.

The Rockets turned to Jeff Green as their backup center and put Jae'Sean Tate on Embiid when Sengun subbed out. They threw him a bunch of extra bodies but weren’t able to shut off the reining MVP's water completely. Embiid letting Tate brick threes on the other end messed with Houston's offensive flow and led to a 14-point lead after the first quarter. The Rockets' need for an upgrade at backup center was apparent.

Bombing away from three only helped matters more for the 76ers as they threatened to double the Rockets' score. Danuel House Hr., one of many former Rockets on Philly's roster, contributed three points in the new- and old-fashioned way and Maxey splashed home two triples of his own. Sengun was able to score on the inside but Philly's efforts to rebound as a team minimized his size impact.

Embiid made mincemeat of the Rockets' double-teams and continued to be a force at the rim on defense. Batum's heavy pressure on VanVleet in the backcourt made things harder for Houston, who couldn’t get the offense running. Green's inability to initiate often left them deep in the shot clock, scoring just two points in roughly three and a half minutes. The Sixers ended the half a bit sloppily, allowing the Rockets to make some dents before the break.

The 76ers went into halftime leading 66-47.

2nd half

Embiid and Batum dazzled to start the half. The former floated into easy jumpers off the catch and the latter secured rebounds with brilliant timing and tips of the ball to himself (for a putback bucket) and Embiid (to start a fast break). The Rockets made it tougher for Embiid to catch the ball in his spot and were able to force tougher shots. He and Maxey got into some two-man sets, including a reverse pick-and-roll to get Embiid a layup, but Philly's offense wasn’t clicking.

Defensively, the 76ers couldn’t stop fouling. Embiid picked up two, which put him at five for the game and sent him to the bench with over four minutes left in the third quarter. The Rockets shot poorly from the foul line and still trailed by a considerable amount but the seeds for a potential comeback were planted with Maxey having three fouls of his own, too.

Beverley was huge for the Sixers in this game. He was needed the most in the third quarter and he played a massive part in making the lead bigger following Embiid's substitution. Big buckets from Maxey and Marcus Morris Sr. helped, too.

Dillon Brooks got into it with his opponent — the Sixers have too many tough guys for there not to be a dust-up — and was hit with double technical fouls with Morris to start the fourth quarter. Embiid checked back in shortly thereafter, seemingly as a way to secure the two rebounds he needed to continue his 30-point-10-rebound streak.

A two-handed slam from Maxey helped the 76ers grow the lead while Houston started to waive the white flag by subbing in Jock Landale. Embiid got the boards he needed to keep the streak going but he wasn’t subbed out right after, not even when a timeout was called. Given the schedule and Philly's massive lead, it was a questionable decision. Still, he ended up playing just 31 minutes and checking out with six minutes left in the game.

Random rumblings:

  • Nick Nurse said that he expects Melton to be out for at least a week to allow him to get back to being 100 percent.
  • The amount of times Houston teased the Bricken for Chicken by missing the first free throw and making the second was brutal.
  • The “E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!” chant count was roughly five for this game.

The 76ers will get their first look of the season at the reigning champion Denver Nuggets tomorrow night in South Philadelphia.