Joel Embiid versus the Miami Heat felt like the 2023 MVP is back in his top form.
The superstar center scored 29 points in the critical game against their Eastern rivals, keeping the team's hopes of a playoff spot alive.
He played 33 minutes, which was right around his usual number before going down last January. He also added four rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.
The Sixers now remain in the hunt for the sixth seed with a 42-35 record. The no. 7 Heat are 42-34, while the no. 6 Indiana Pacers are 43-34.
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The team's schedule is one of, if not the most, manageable right now, with one week remaining in the regular season.
They have now recorded two straight victories, and next up for them are the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs on the road.
While the team is taking care of business on the court, an issue concerning Joel Embiid is hounding them.
Joel Embiid's injury reporting is sketchy
The NBA has investigated the Sixers' handling of Embiid's availability.
The questions started in his return against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday when the team flipped-flopped on the status of their star.
According to Jared Greenberg of NBA on TNT, the NBA is questioning the Sixers' decision to put the 30-year-old in and out of the lineup in one day.
The OKC game was Embiid's first game since tearing a meniscus in his left knee. He was shut down temporarily on February 1 to undergo surgery.
There was anticipation of his return the week before, as several insiders said he was ready to go against OKC.
The team made him available on Monday, but then they redacted it and ruled him out hours later.
"Joel Embiid did not show up to shoot-around today, did not partake in the team's walk-through in preparation for tonight. Didn't even show up to the arena to get treatment from the training staff," Greenberg said in his report.
"So the team still had him ruled out until around 5:30 Eastern when Embiid arrived at the arena, and then he was upgraded to questionable. I've spoken to multiple people inside the NBA league office, and we should expect some sort of investigation into how the Sixers handled the injury report, going from out, out, out to questionable, to playing in this short span of time. The league office certainly will take note of that."
The investigation could lead to the Sixers getting fined for mishandling Embiid's status report.
It is not the first time the Sixers are fined
The Sixers have been in this situation with Embiid.
The team was fined $75,000 in February for misreporting Embiid's availability against the Denver Nuggets.
The game was among the most anticipated in the 2023-2024 season, as it would have featured MVP rivals Embiid and Nikola Jokic.
The league said the Sixers were fined because they had a "prior history of fines for violating injury reporting rules."
"The league review concluded that there was no violation of the Player Participation Policy because Embiid's absence was due to a confirmed injury," it added.
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