Embiid struggles in season debut as Sixers fall to Knicks

PHILADELPHIA — It took an extra three weeks, but Joel Embiid’s regular season finally is underway.

The superstar center made his season debut Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center against the New York Knicks after sitting out the first nine games to manage his left knee injury and then a three-game suspension for shoving a reporter.

And after a predictably up-and-down performance across 26 minutes — 13 points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field (but 8-for-8 from the free throw line), plus 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block — in a 111-99 loss, Embiid said regaining confidence in pushing off hard on his troublesome left knee will take time.

“It’s all about confidence and trusting myself,” he said. “Pushing off … I talked about it a couple weeks ago when I talked to you guys, that’s the mental hurdle that I got to get to. But I think I can still be pretty good even without that, which I’m going to get to at some point.

“I don’t know when. Might be next game, might be in two games … [but] usually get it back pretty fast, so I’m fine.”

Not much is fine these days with the 76ers (2-8), who are 14th in the Eastern Conference standings with a matchup against the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers on tap Wednesday. It remains to be seen whether Embiid or fellow star Paul George will play.

Previously, the 76ers made it clear they would plan to prioritize the health of their veteran stars over the course of the season. But that was also before their injury-riddled start, as Embiid, George (bone bruise in his left knee) and Tyrese Maxey (hamstring strain) all have been injured.

“I think it’s all about us just getting on the floor together, learning how to play with each other,” Embiid said. “But health is a big thing. I’m back, PG is feeling pretty good, now we need to get Tyrese back, and once we’re all on the floor, I think we’re going to have a pretty good chance to win some games.”

The Knicks (5-5) don’t have those issues. They’ve had the same starting lineup — Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns — plus sixth man Deuce McBride available for their 10 games.

And while Tuesday began with so much attention on Embiid’s season debut, it quickly shifted to Towns — the central New Jersey native playing his first game in the rivalry — who had one of his best all-around performances as a Knick.

Towns scored eight points in the opening few minutes, finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists, and set the tone with his energy at both ends.

“Yeah, obviously Joel is a great defensive player,” Hart said. “But first game back, it takes you a little while to get into the rhythm. [Towns] did what we needed him to do, came out of the gate, got a couple of 3s, attacked the rim, played how we needed him to do. Set the tone early, got big rebounds and we kind of fed off of that.”

Embiid hadn’t played in a competitive game since the U.S. won gold at the Paris Olympics in August. He hadn’t played for the 76ers since the Knicks ousted them in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs in April.

And against the Knicks on Tuesday night, he looked like a player who had spent significant time away from the court.

His typical touch on his jumper eluded him, and he finished 1-for-5 on 3-pointers. His face-up game, too, was a beat slow, with Towns repeatedly having success getting his hands on the ball when Embiid was trying to load up for a drive and causing him to have to reset.

And playing against Towns and a Knicks offense that often had five players beyond the 3-point line, Embiid spent much of the night moving around the court trying to keep up with New York’s offensive firepower.

“He was certainly rusty,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “Conditioning I think showed up fairly early. Seen him play through that before, kind of respond in the second half, after being on a layoff. Seemed to do it a little bit, then I thought he got kind of tired again in the fourth. But again, probably to be expected. I thought he played with some pretty good competitive spirit for what he could do out there.”

Ultimately, though, the result was yet another loss for the 76ers. And while the forgiving Eastern Conference standings — where only the Boston Celtics and Cavaliers are better than .500 — gives a team like Philadelphia time to get things together, the 76ers are hoping that process can start now with Embiid’s return.

“The season’s long,” George said. “I do think once we get all of our pieces together we will start making strides in the right direction. We’ll start to get some consistency and the chemistry will continue to take off. Right now, it’s Joel’s [Embiid] first game back, Tyrese [Maxey] is still out, so we’ve yet to see this team complete. Those are big pieces for us.

“We’re all trying to do a little more than we’re supposed to be doing, which is OK because we’re trying to fill in big voids and big gaps, but once we’re full strength I think that’s when we can judge how we are.”