PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers were able to rally and walk away with a 125-121 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday to get to 2-0 on the season. The Sixers were down double digits in the fourth quarter and were able to dig deep to get the job done against a talented Hornets team despite not having Joel Embiid for the majority of the second half.

Embiid played only five minutes after halftime as he reached his minutes restriction of 20. He finished with 20 on 7-for-11 shooting which was much better than his showing on opening night in Boston when he shot just 1-for-9.

“Obviously, I’m on a heavy minutes restriction, so, I came in the first game trying to—obviously, first game in a couple months,” Embiid started after the win. “I know I played in the preseason, but it’s not the same. Not even close. Trying to work my way back and trying to figure it out. Obviously, it’s easier when you make shots like I did tonight. It looks better, but I think it was just the same. The first game it was more like getting in the game slowly. Figuring it out.”

Embiid played 15 minutes in the first half as coach Nick Nurse had him out there for longer stints. That allowed him to get into a rhythm, especially in the first quarter when he played seven minutes in the first and finished with nine points while knocking down two triples. He then had seven points in the second quarter when he played 8:15.

“Tonight, it was more like well, I only got 20 minutes,” Embiid stated. “The one thing I don’t like about the minutes restriction is because you know you only got three or four stints and you’re coming out. That makes me put myself, kinda like, not necessarily at risk, but kinda, like push myself. The first game, I didn’t fall down. Today, I fell down like five times because I was just tryna ‘I only got this amount of minutes’. If I don’t make an impact, then I’m not gonna get the chance. I’m not gonna do anything in 20 minutes.”

The longer stints in the first half meant Embiid was done early in the third quarter. Nurse had to pull him and turn to Andre Drummond who made a huge impact and was a key reason why Philadelphia was able to rally and win the game, but on the count of the big fella, he is still working his way through the restrictions the medical staff have on him at the moment.

“I’d rather not have minutes restrictions, but I’d rather get it out of the way,” he added. “The longer I sit, the shorter stints, you don’t get in a rhythm. You play two, three minutes, and you gotta get out. That’s like two or three up and down. That’s really nothing. I might as well just stay home and be with my family. Longer stints, you actually let the game come to you, but then again, longer stints mean you might be done by halftime.”

The Sixers are doing the right thing in the bigger picture. They will not win a title unless the big fella is ready to go for when the games matter most. Therefore, they need to put Embiid on this restriction now to prepare him for what’s to come. It still doesn’t change the fact that this is a challenge for him right now.

“I can’t sit for too long and being in shape is one thing, but being in basketball shape is another thing,” Embiid continued. “You need to play and you need to play a lot so instead of playing six minutes and sitting another 10 minutes, and coming back and playing another six minutes, you’re not gonna go nowhere, but I guess I trust them and until I’m over it, I’m gonna keep trying.”

In terms of when the minutes restriction might end, the big fella isn’t sure. He just wants to make a case for himself every day that it should be lifted sooner rather than later.

“I have no idea,” Embiid finished. “I make my case every day. If they listen to me, good. If they don’t, I guess that’s on them.”

The Sixers will play host to the Orlando Magic on Monday.