PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had to battle the Indiana Pacers on Friday night without the services of star guard Tyrese Maxey who was sidelined with an illness. With that much production sitting at home, the Sixers needed somebody to step up in his place against a pesky Pacers team.

That’s where Joel Embiid stepped in. The big fella served a reminder to everybody that he, in fact, can still do this as he dropped 39 points on 12-for-23 shooting with nine rebounds in a 115-105 win over the Pacers.

“Without Tyrese, I just had to do a little bit more than usual, but I think I’ve had a good three or four days,” Embiid said of his performance. “Just working every day and trying to get back in a rhythm and I think that’s what it comes down to.”

Maxey, watching from home, gave a big shoutout to Embiid and the Sixers on his Instagram story.

Embiid and Maxey have been close since the Sixers selected Maxey in the 2020 draft. With his younger teammate sidelined, Embiid wanted to make sure he put on a show for him.

“I called him after the game to check on him and see how he’s doing,” Embiid stated. “We miss him, obviously. The game would’ve been much easier if he played. He’s that good. We just gotta do what he can. He deserves to get that rest and kinda reset a little bit. He’s been doing a lot for us so, hopefully, that made him happy.”

As for his teammates who were on the floor with him, Embiid’s performance isn’t too much of a surprise. They work with him every day. So, while it has been a lot of work to get to this point, his teammates are not surprised by the results.

“I’m happy for Jo. I’m really happy for him,” said rookie VJ Edgecombe. “He sold on the 40 points that I’m gonna consistently remind him about, but like I said, I’m really happy for him, man. He’s showing y’all that ain’t nothing’s wrong with the basketball. The only thing is health which is unfortunate, but he’s still a great player regardless of the different things and obstacles he has to face. He’s still a great player, still an MVP-caliber player in this league.”

Paul George, another player who has had to work his way back from injury, has been in the gym with Embiid as they both work their way back from their respective knee injuries. He has seen the big fella put in the work to be in this position and he’s happy to see it all paying off.

“I’m happy for him,” George added. “People don’t understand how much work he does and how much goes just into his day-to-days of getting prepared and getting ready for games. I talk to him and he’s got a list of things he does. He’s a hard worker man when it comes to taking care of his body and doing whatever it takes to get on the floor and be available for us. We appreciate all his efforts and happy that it showed out and he got back to his usual self with tonight’s game.”

The Sixers will take on the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday on the road to continue their season.