Not to alarm anyone but we might just have an NBA team on our hands.
Joel Embiid returned to the lineup and powered the Sixers to a 108-100 win over the Chicago Bulls Sunday afternoon. Leading all scorers, Embiid finished with 31 points and 12 rebounds. After starting 0-of-7 from the floor, he finished 13-of-28 and 5-of-6 from the line.
Tyrese Maxey started off slow but also settled in. He finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists for his first career triple-double. Paul George finished with 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
### **First Quarter**
* It was an expected slow start for the [Sixers](https://www.libertyballers.com)’ offense who opened the game 2-of-9 from the floor. The two-man actions with Embiid did get good looks but he missed his first seven shots of the game. A pick-and-roll with George got him an open layup but he just fumbled it.
* The offense didn’t really get going until halfway through the quarter. The Bulls held them scoreless for three minutes early on. Maxey got his first step-back three to fall but not much else. Coming off the bench, Jared McCain didn't get a clean look on his first two layups but knocked down his first three of the game.
* The Sixers didn’t go a great job of staying in front of their man on defense, but a big reason for the shooting disparity early was transition opportunities. The Sixers turned it over six times in the quarter and it led to 10 fast break points for the Bulls. Coby White beat the buzzer with a three to make it a 10-point lead for Chicago after one.
### **Second Quarter**
* A lot of times lineup problems are more complicated than “this one guy should play over that guy,” but Kyle Lowry playing over McCain just feels like self-sabotage at the moment. The quarter opened with Lowry getting stood up and stripped by Josh Giddey of all people.
* Embiid finally got on the board and that coincided with a 9-0 run for the Sixers. He got a turnaround jumper to go, then got his own miss on a layup that turned into an and-1. Attacking the paint is a really good sign as he got a wide open layup off a pick-and-roll with Maxey a few possessions later.
* Things really started going the Sixers way as the quarter progressed, and the biggest reason was Joel Embiid looking like Joel Embiid again. Everything was flowing easy as he started cooking from the high-post. He finished with 19 points in the quarter. Even a sloppy pass he threw in transition was tracked down by McCain and scooped to KJ Martin for the dunk. That capped off a 15-0 run, their second extended run of the quarter.
* A more unfamiliar sight was the Sixers extending the lead once Embiid went to the bench. KJ Martin continued to give good energy minutes, ripping an offensive rebound away from Zach LaVine for an extra bucket. George continued to show off his playmaking chops, hitting Martin with a dump-off and McCain for a three with a really nice skip pass. The Sixers took a 12-point lead into the break.
### **Third Quarter**
* A bit of a lineup tweak to start the second half as McCain started it in place of Guerschon Yabusele. That change was made so Yabu could play the backup five when Embiid went to the bench against a small, fast Bulls team. The offense continued to roll as Maxey hit a couple threes off the catch. Embiid had a ridiculous and-1 as he continued to stay hot from the nail, and George absolutely stuffed an Ayo Dosunmu layup attempt.
* Kelly Oubre Jr. was all over the glass on both ends of the floor throughout the quarter. He had nine boards through three, including three on the offensive end, and that doesn’t include the rebounds he was tipping out to teammates. Maxey rewarded him for that hustle by throwing him a really nice lob off a baseline cut.
* The only person benefitting from Embiid’s return more than Embiid himself was Maxey. He also got off to a slow start, but was able to settle in as Embiid did the same thing. He had 12 points in the third after having just seven in the first half. He had a much better feel for finding his teammates as well as he had 12 assists through three. Everything was looking comfortable for the Sixers, and Jalen Smith drilled a half-court buzzer beater to make it a nine-point game as the quarter closed.
### **Fourth Quarter**
* Some very ugly offense to open the quarter as it took the Sixers three and a half minutes to get their first field goal. The Bulls chipped away a bit but went scoreless themselves for a three-minute stretch. The Sixers did play solid defense for the most part in this stretch — Embiid and Oubre did a good job of altering shots in the paint.
* Oubre’s positive contributions seemed to come from everywhere today. He knocked down a three to stabilize things then drew an offensive foul on LaVine. He ripped the ball away from Dosunmu a few moments later. However every time the Sixers pushed their lead back up again, LaVine answered with a three.
* They were probably hoping to put this one away earlier so Embiid didn’t have to play the whole fourth quarter, but he looked up for the task for it. A jumper from him and layup from Maxey pushed the lead back up to nine with a minute left, which ended up being enough to put the Bulls away.
* With the next stage of the NBA Cup progressing, teams like the Sixers who didn’t advance will have a few extra days off. Their next game is Friday at home against the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. ET.