Joel Embiid magic, KJ Martin on the run and a Guerschon Yabusele poster: 6 highlights from the win over the Hornets

The Philadelphia 76ers picked up their ninth win of the season Friday night as they defeated a struggling Charlotte Hornets team 108-98 in South Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid led the way with 34 points and Tyrese Maxey followed with 23. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 22 against his former team. Despite the Sixers allowing this to be much more of a contest than it should have been, a win is a win, play the song.

If you’re looking for a complete game recap, you can find it here. For the bell ringer, you can find that here. But in this piece, we’re just here to take a look at a few great plays that stood out from the competition.

1. Between the legs

The Joel Embiid-Tyrese Maxey two-man play should work early in this one. Despite this being just the duo’s fourth contest playing together this campaign, they are as in sync as they could ever be. On this play in the first period, it sets up like any other dribble pass between the two, but Embiid apparently had other ideas. The big guy drops it between his legs for Maxey and sets a screen on Cody Martin, leaving Maxey open for his second of four triples in the first frame.

2. Ricky Council IV is Ricky Council IV

Ricky Council IV has gotten more opportunities on the floor for the Sixers, with the team suffering a voodoo-cursed level of injuries to start the season. He takes advantage of it. Council constantly impresses with his athleticism, speed, aggression and fearlessness. This play was no exception. Grabs the loose ball on the defensive end and RC4 runs down the other way past half court with three Hornets on the floor in front between him and the net. Council leaves freshman Tidjane Salaun in the dust with the in-and-out dribble and sets up for an emphatic backscratcher dunk.

3. Embiid still has the moves

It’s amazing how Embiid is able to produce with a giant knee brace and a mask. That’s part of the reason this piece stood out to me personally. It was clear throughout the contest (minus the one time he threw himself out of bounds to save a loose ball) that Embiid tried to minimize contact and impact to protect his knees and face. Being able to hit a juke like this shows comfort and fluidity and allows him to produce without having to use his body for bully ball. Dropping left, Embiid Vasilije Micic dances right out of his shoes and frees himself for a comfortable mid-range jumper.

Fun fact: Micic was actually drafted by the Sixers with the 52nd overall pick in the second round of the 2014 draft, the year Embiid was also drafted by Philadelphia. However, Micic never made it to the Sixers and instead played professionally in Europe.

4. Maxey-Martin spawn-up

This one starts with Paul George grabbing a steal and passing it to Maxey in transition. Maxey charges into the arc with a pair of Hornets defenders between himself and KJ Martin and sends a high lob in Martin’s direction. Martin absolutely soars to grab this pass and slam it home. That’s not to say it was a bad pass by Maxey at all, it was exactly where it needed to be, but just want to give an extra shoutout to the athleticism Martin brings to the Sixers. Pause this highlight right around the 0:06 mark. With both of Martin’s feet on the ground, the ball is well above his head when he goes up to grab and dunk it.

5. The pounding bear

Guerschon Yabusele murdered a man in court on Friday night. OK, not literally. But emotionally and spiritually. In another great transition play by the Sixers, Embiid grabs a steal and passes it to Yabusele, who takes it down the court. As Yabu is about to enter the paint, he has Charlotte’s DaQuan Jeffries standing in front of him and two Hornets trailing behind him. With nowhere to run to, Yabusele uses all his size and momentum to get right into and over Jeffries for an absolutely nasty poster.

And the flex afterwards? The chef’s kiss.

6. Embiid magic

Not much analysis needed here, just Embiid is magic. The big guy fights his way into the paint toward the restricted area, with Charlotte’s Nick Richards standing between him and the rim. Embiid stops, pump fakes all the way up with his right arm and sends Richards flying before pulling the ball back down and quickly switching hands to finish with his left. It was an insane play made even more monumental contextually when you realize this was during the Hornets’ fourth-quarter push to try to turn the game around.

Which one was your favorite? What plays did we miss? Tell us in the comments!