PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers were missing Tyrese Maxey heading into Friday’s contest with the Indiana Pacers due to an illness. When considering all of the heavy lifting he has done in the 2025-26 season, one might have assumed that the Sixers were in for a tough night.

Instead, ole reliable stepped up and got the job done in a loud way.

Joel Embiid, the 2023 MVP winner, erupted in a 115-105 win over the Pacers. The big fella went for 39 points on 12-for-23 shooting with nine rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes. It served as a reminder to the critics out there that he, in fact, can still do this. It’s easy to forget how talented Embiid is when considering all of the injury setbacks, but for those who think he doesn’t have anything left, one might have to think again.

“I don’t know,” Embiid chuckled after the win. “That’s something for those people that don’t think I can do that, but I can’t change their opinion. It feels good, obviously, playing like that, I feel like I can do it. I think the dynamic is obviously different at times.”

The dynamic certainly is different. The Sixers run a more Maxey-centric offense now with the 6-year guard assuming more responsibility on that end of the floor, but Embiid can still put up big numbers should the time call for it. He showed it against the Pacers on a night when Philadelphia needed an offensive leader.

“I want to play more as a team so making sure everybody’s involved so if someone has to sacrifice, I will, but in some occasions when I got it going or nights like tonight, it’s gotta happen,” Embiid added. “So, I don’t expect having to do this when everyone is healthy, but I will if I have to.”

Embiid also knocked down two 3-pointers in this one. His first triple–a late step back 3 over Pacers big man Jay Huff in the first half–snapped a streak of 19 straight missed 3-pointers. He was happy to finally see one go through amid all of the struggles on that end of the floor.

“I think out of all the 3s that I make, that’s the one that I make,” Embiid added. “The hardest one. Off the dribble. It’ll be fine. I think something hasn’t felt right with my hand lately. So, I had a couple days to recover and put in some work in with my guy, Drew. So, I think just having that consistency on the court helps a lot, but it was just a little thing with my finger. So, that keeps getting better.”

Embiid and the Sixers will now move on to face the Atlanta Hawks on the road on Sunday evening.