Joel Embiid had plenty to talk about Tuesday night after leading the 76ers to a 118-116 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at the Wells Fargo Center, including his injuries, recovery and mental state.

When considering the return of Joel Embiid, the Sixers were feeling good about their chances. The Sixers built a lead early, but the Mavs used a big second quarter to build a lead, but Philadelphia used a big third quarter to take control.

With the Sixers down to an eight-man rotation against Boston Sunday without Gordon, Justin Edwards and Kelly Oubre bore the brunt of the duty. Edwards played a career-high 44 minutes, with 12 points and seven rebounds, plus the duty of chasing around the Celtics’ All-Star corps of wings in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.