Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid finally returned to action on Saturday night ever since he sustained a left knee bruise against the Washington Wizards back in mid-March. Looking back on the incident, the Cameroonian big man admitted that he thought his 2020-21 Sixers campaign was already over when he fell down on the floor, via Rich Hofmann.
As it turned out, Embiid didn't suffer a major injury as he was only sidelined for a total of 10 games in three week's worth of absence. Strong outings from Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris eventually powered the Sixers through that stretch as they garnered a 7-3 tally.
Meanwhile, backup big men in Dwight Howard and Mike Scott filled the huge void that he left in the middle of the paint while he was recovering on the sidelines. Even without Embiid, the Sixers still managed to continue their impressive showing as they held onto the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
On Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Embiid came back and balled out as he notched 24 points along with eight rebounds through 28 minutes of action. The 76ers were their usual selves as they dominated their struggling opponents en route to a 122-113 victory.
With Joel Embiid picking up where he left off, he remains in contention for the ongoing MVP race where he is competing alongside a bevy of strong contenders. More than individual success, the four-time All-Star just wants to come back and lead the Sixers until the playoffs where they are expected to make a deep run this season.