PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers finished up the preseason with a 126-110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves and, most importantly, they welcomed Joel Embiid back to the floor. The big fella played in his first game since Feb. 22 and he now is looking to move on and get healthy for the regular season opener on Wednesday in Boston.

Embiid had 14 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and three steals, Tyrese Maxey had 27 points and seven assists, and VJ Edgecombe had 26 points, six rebounds, and five steals. Quentin Grimes added 22 points off the bench and Dominick Barlow had six points and five rebounds. Adem Bona pulled down seven rebounds in a start next to Embiid.

Here are the three biggest takeaways after the win:

Embiid checks the boxes

The Sixers were hoping to see Embiid get into the second half on Friday. Check. They wanted to keep him around a certain minutes restriction. Check. He came out of the game healthy. Check. That’s pretty much everything coach Nick Nurse needed on this night. The big fella had some good moments and now, the entire organization holds its collective breath in hopes that Embiid will be all set to go for the opener on Wednesday.

“I mean, that was about exactly where we wanted to be with the minutes right in the ballpark with it,” Nurse stated. “It was kind of some quick stints and stuff. Obviously, we have to see where it goes from here, but that was the plan right there, pretty much. It worked out good.”

Edgecombe and Maxey complement each other well

This backcourt has so much potential. Edgecombe’s athleticism is truly off the charts as he had quite a few jaw-dropping moments whether he was crashing the glass and coming up with a couple of big rebounds or rising up and trying to come up with a big-time posterization on somebody. He was impressive. Good luck to anybody trying to defend Edgecombe and Maxey in the open court when considering how blazing fast both players are. It also helps that Maxey continues to grow into his own with his leadership to help Edgecombe take that next step.

“That’s my dog, man,” Maxey said of Edgecombe. “We came close the last couple months so whatever help I can give him. I think the biggest thing that we’ve been working on that I go over with him every morning is his touch. You know what I’m saying? His feeling around the rim. We know he’s gonna dunk on some people for sure, but it’s gonna be some times when he’s gotta shoot some tough layups and do different things like that. I think that’ll make his game even better. If the defense knows he can shoot floaters, make tough layups, and then they also know sometimes he will dunk on me, so, that’ll be good for him as well.”

Grimes makes his return

After a summerlong stalemate over his contract, Grimes was able to get back on the court and make his return. The Sixers got a big performance out of him off the bench and one has to believe this is what Nurse is looking for from the 4-year guard out of Houston. He was exploding into perimeter jumpers, getting to the basket off the dribble, making an impact defensively, and making plays with his passing. He is going to play an important role for this Sixers team throughout the season.

“It felt good,” Grimes said after his return to the floor. “It’s been about seven months without playing 5-on-5. So, just getting out there and kind of—you can’t simulate game speed in practice, so it felt good to compete with the guys. For sure.”