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NBA Philadelphia beats Oklahoma City
Joel Embiid returned from injury to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to victory.
Philadelphia defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 109-105 at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday (Feb. 3) behind 24 points in 30 minutes of action in a National Basketball Association (NBA) regular-season home game.
In his first game in nine weeks after undergoing season-ending knee surgery, Embiid hit the game-winning free throws in the fourth quarter and added seven assists and six rebounds.
After the game, Embiid was congratulated by teammate and Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson.
Philadelphia, which slipped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a 41-35 record, has hopes of making the playoffs without having to go through the play-in tournament thanks to the return of its star.
Down 104-105 with 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Embiid had two free throw opportunities and made all four to seal the win.
"I thought I was going to come back and score 30, 40 points, but I didn't," Embiid said after the game. "It's going to take me a while to get back to believing in myself."
The loss dropped Oklahoma City to second place in the Western Conference (52-23).
The Denver Nuggets defeated the lowly San Antonio Spurs 110-105, led by Nikola Jokic's 42 points.
Jokic and San Antonio's "monster rookie" Victor Wembaanyama battled it out under the basket.
After Yokichi broke the tie with a hook shot in the fourth quarter to make it 105-103, Wembanyama answered with a layup to tie it again.
Denver took the lead on Michael Porter Jr.'s 3-pointer with 28 seconds left in regulation, and San Antonio couldn't close out the game after Wembanyama missed a 3-pointer.
Denver, which improved to 53-23, moved into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference.