After a disastrous three-game road trip which included plenty of controversy and three losses, the Sixers returned to their home floor on Monday night looking to nab their third win of the first month of the 2024-25 regular season. 

Ahead of their matchup against old friend Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets, the Sixers made Joel Embiid questionable with the now-infamous "left knee; injury management" designation. When starting lineups were due 30 minutes prior to the beginning of action, the Sixers ruled Embiid out. During the game, the team provided a sobering update on their franchise centerpiece.

In Embiid's absence, the Sixers got off to an excellent start, building up a strong lead that in a matter of about six minutes of play turned into a noteworthy deficit. The Sixers responded to Brooklyn's haymaker with one of their own, taking a two-point lead into the fourth quarter. This game very much became the basketball version of a seesaw for its final 18 minutes, but it was the Sixers who came out on top thanks to the two players who may represent the best of the organization's future. Here is what stood out from the team's much-needed 113-98 victory:

Embiid out of action again

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said during his pregame press conference that Embiid would warm up before the game, and the team would then proceed on deciding about his availability for the game — a statement that has been made by someone coaching Embiid more times than anyone could count. 

The exact back-and-forth went as follows:

"Is Joel going to warm up, work out and then you'll determine [his status]?" a reporter asked.

"Yes," Nurse said.

Embiid did not warm up before he was ruled out. The reason would be revealed later on.

Yabusele and Oubre lead excellent opening act

In Embiid's place, the Sixers started Guerschon Yabusele at center. Rounding out the starting lineup were Tyrese Maxey — whose minutes limit would be increased slightly, Nurse said — along with Jared McCain, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Caleb Martin. Oubre replaced Paul George in the lineup for what is the first of two games the nine-time All-Star has been ruled out for with his second left knee bone bruise in as many months.

Believe it or not, the Sixers' start to this game was about as strong as it could have been. Yabusele set the tone, knocking down a three for the game's first basket. Moments later, he knocked down another triple — and this one was a true rainbow:

Oubre was reinserted into Nurse's starting five after a three-game bench cameo. He converted an early and-one, and after Yabusele missed a heat check three, he threw down an emphatic put-back slam:

Oubre did it all during his first five minutes or so, adding a steal and pair of assists to his five points. He did run into foul trouble, though, which accelerated some rotation adjustments made by Nurse.

Nurse goes to Ricky Council IV earlier than ever among other rotation tweaks

Council did some things to impress on Wednesday night in Memphis, and is beginning to look more comfortable as he looks to establish himself as a rotation-ready player in his second NBA season. But the athletic wing checking in fewer than five minutes into the game came as a real surprise. Council and Eric Gordon were the Sixers' first two substitutions, replacing Jared McCain and Oubre. 

McCain returned very quickly alongside Reggie Jackson, replacing Caleb Martin — who took a trip to the locker room — and Maxey. McCain, the only Sixers starter who did not attempt a shot during their excellent five-minute burst to start the game, knocked down two threes almost immediately. The second one came after a terrific hustle play by Yabusele:

McCain went on to knock down his third three-pointer of the game at the 8:16 mark of the second quarter. The rookie continues to do sensational things:

On top of that, McCain tossed this gorgeous alley-oop to Andre Drummond for a rim-rattling slam:

Additionally, KJ Martin received his first regular rotation minutes in two weeks. The fifth-year forward had a strong West Coast trip, but since posting back-to-back good showings in his hometown of Los Angeles, he had been removed from the rotation. Martin's athleticism, defensive versatility and short-roll passing chops could all make him useful for this team.

Sixers take lead into halftime — but it could have been greater

The Sixers led by as many as 13 points during the first half, and a major driver of that was Maxey, who scored 10 points in just 11 minutes on terrific efficiency — 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from beyond the arc — all within the flow of the offense. Maxey finally looked like himself, a welcome sign for a Sixers team that needed him desperately. After his second triple, he threw down this transition slam:

Maxey's dunk gave the Sixers a 51-38 lead with 3:27 left in the first half — their largest lead of the game to that point — but he checked out seconds later, and the remainder of the half was a struggle for the Sixers, who were on the wrong side of a 12-2 Nets run to close the second quarter.

Suddenly, the Sixers' lead had been trimmed down to three points at intermission, as they led, 53-50.

A midgame Embiid update

Right as the second half began, the Sixers said that Embiid was dealing with swelling in his left knee and that in addition to Friday night's game against Brooklyn, the former NBA MVP would be sidelined on Sunday night.

"Joel Embiid is managing swelling in his left knee," the team's update stated. "In consultation with the team’s medical staff, Embiid missed tonight’s game and will also miss Sunday’s game. He is receiving treatment and further updates on his status will be provided early next week."

Well, that explains a bit — but also incites plenty more questions. Is Embiid never going to be able to handle even a semi-regular workload without his knee experiencing swelling? Given that Embiid has five years at approximately $300 million total remaining on his contract (including the current season), it is an increasingly ominous situation.

Brooklyn run continues to kick off second half, putting Sixers in a hole

If the Sixers thought their close to the first half was poor, they had no idea what was coming to begin the second half: a Nets onslaught which was completely undeterred by the Sixers. Nurse was forced to call a timeout after exactly three minutes of play in the third quarter, and his team suddenly trailed by nine points.

Between the final moments of the first half and the first few minutes of the second half, Brooklyn went on a 26-4 run at the Sixers' expensive in about six total minutes — a 22-point turnaround.

Brooklyn's surge was powered by a pair of players named Cameron: Johnson, the three-point marksman, was outstanding all night, and Thomas, the young scoring aficionado, found a groove as a bucket-getter after intermission.

The Sixers had built enough of a lead that their disastrous stretch did not render them incapable of coming back, though. And then...

Maxey leads Sixers push, taking back control of game

The Sixers came back and regained their lead, and it started with an oddity: Drummond missed a wide open dunk, drawing the ire of Sixers fans. But Oubre hustled to recover the possession and threw a lob to Drummond, who did not make the same mistake twice. Maxey then ripped the ball away from Thomas and dashed to the other end for a dunk, trimming Brooklyn's lead down to a point and forcing a Nets timeout:

Out of the timeout, Maxey scored the Sixers' next five points — including an and-one in transition which put the Sixers back in front and really ignited a crowd desperate for something to cheer about. Due to early struggles as the Sixers' lone consistent offensive options and a hamstring injury, only a few times this season has Maxey been able to rip off one of his tremendous heaters. But he came up large here, helping the Sixers reestablish control of the game.

After three quarters, the Sixers held a 79-77 lead over the Nets.

Nets make a run to open fourth, but Sixers' guards put their feet down

The Sixers' two-point lead became a four-point deficit in the first 90 seconds of play in the final frame, with Gordon at the center of the team's struggles. Gordon could not buy a bucket -- even when one of the most accomplished three-point shooters in the NBA was left wide open from beyond the arc. He drew plenty of ire from the Sixers crowd, fumbling multiple opportunities to help the Sixers regain control.

To the rescue — again — came McCain, who strung together two mid-range buckets to cut the lead to one and notch his seventh consecutive 20-point game. Johnson responded with a basket, but Jackson knocked down his third triple of the game to knot things up:

The Sixers received tremendous energy from KJ Martin and Yabusele, who both crashed the glass with extreme aggression and helped generate extra scoring chances for their team. Ultimately, though, their guard play continued to be what powered them late.

McCain staged yet another fourth-quarter eruption, finishing a left-handed layup after Simmons blew a running hook shot and then knocking down his fifth three of the game — giving the Sixers a four-point lead and forcing a Brooklyn timeout:

After that timeout, the Sixers forced a turnover which led to an easy transition layup for Maxey. When McCain had an isolation possession stalled, he threw the ball to Maxey, who created a bucket all on his own. Maxey then hit this three as he fell to the ground before McCain scored yet another mid-range bucket and then put the dagger in Brooklyn's hearts with another triple.

The two dynamic scoring guards took turns dissecting Brooklyn's defense, and led the Sixers to their third win of the season.

It took 30 days, but the Sixers have finally won a regular season game in regulation.

Up next: The Sixers will welcome James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers to town on Sunday evening for their second game of the season against their former point guard. They will then host a young and exciting Houston Rockets team on Wednesday night.

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