PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is, once again, a constant for the 76ers.

With Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford back, we’ll finally get a glimpse of how competitive the team is.

And Wednesday was one of those performances when Paul George let people know he still got it.

Those things stood out in the 131-110 victory over the Washington Wizards at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Embiid stringing together games

This contest marked the fifth consecutive game that Embiid has played this season. There was one day’s rest between each game. Earlier this season, the 7-foot-2, 280-pound center didn’t play with less than two days of rest between games.

The limited amount of rest hasn’t appeared to impact Embiid’s performance, who has already missed 17 games due to right and left knee injuries and a sprained ankle.

He averaged 28.5 points, 8.5 rebounds. 5.3 assists and one block in his previous four games. On Wednesday, Embiid tallied 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting along with seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 25 minutes, 24 seconds.

He scored the game’s first basket on an 11-foot jumper 17 seconds into the contest. Then Embiid delivered a thunderous two-handed dunk to put the Sixers up, 7-0, 1:20 later.

And Embiid displayed solid defense while blocking Justin Champagnie’s layup with 5:02 left in the quarter.

He ended the quarter with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, along with three rebounds and one assist. Embiid was up to 16 points at the half.

“The nicest thing to see is he’s stringing some games here, one after another,” coach Nick Nurse said before the game. “And the same is applying to the daily work, and all that kind of stuff, too. I just think that’s important for him to continue to keep playing.”

The good thing for the Sixers (20-15) is that his availability means he’s feeling better. It also means the 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star is regaining his rhythm. And as Nurse pointed out, you see him continue to sharpen his skills.

“But yeah, it’s great to see him, obviously,” Nurse said. “The guys that we got playing around him now are playing extremely hard for the most part, and he’s obviously, I always say this, it’s our best version if he’s out there and he’s good. Hopefully, we can continue along with that. Hopefully, he’ll keep stringing some games up here.”

The Sixers were cautious with Embiid earlier in the season by giving him two days of rest between games and hard practices.

The Crew’s intact

This matchup marked the first time since December 2023 that the Sixers had all their key players available.

Oubre returned after missing the previous 22 games with a sprained left knee ligament against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 14. Meanwhile, Watford was available after being sidelined 17 games with a strained left thigh muscle against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 25.

Oubre checked into the game at the 4:27 mark of the first quarter to a loud ovation. He immediately made an impact, impeding the Wizards (10-26) from getting an offensive rebound on a missed 3-pointer. And in true Oubre fashion, the 6-8 small forward signaled that it was the Sixers’ possession before sprinting down the floor.

He grabbed his first rebound at 1:51 left in the quarter, while playing power forward in a small-ball lineup with Tyrese Maxey, Quentin Grimes, Jared McCain and Adem Bona. Oubre grabbed his second rebound — also defensive — 17 seconds into the second quarter. This time, he dribbled the ball up to the court before misfiring on a 28-foot three-pointer. Oubre went to the bench 1:48 into the quarter. He had two rebounds while missing both of his shots during his initial stint.

In his second stint, Oubre was on the floor with Maxey, Embiid, George and Dominick Barlow for the final 1:56 of the half.

Oubre scored his only basket with 7:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. He finished with two points on 1-of-4 shooting to go with three rebounds, one assist and two steals.

Watford didn’t come into the game until 4:45 remained. He had three assists while closing out the blowout victory.

Nurse hinted that he probably would not play, or would play very little, before the game. That’s because he didn’t want to disrupt the team’s rhythm at this time. The Sixers have been successful recently with Barlow and reserve Jabari Walker getting the bulk of the minutes at power forward.

But the coach is elated to finally have his full complement of key players at his disposal.

“It is great. It is great, it is,” Nurse said. “You know, getting them all there … is the first kind of accomplishment, or first step, I should say. And then, getting them all to a level of conditioning and rhythm and like their peak performance is going to be a ways away yet, but this is the first step in that. That’s when we can see all the things that we can really do eventually.”

With their full complement of players, we can finally get an idea of how competitive the Sixers are this season. Nurse can also figure out which lineups work the best.

George’s showcase

George had an efficient game. The small forward finished with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting — including making 4 of 8 3-pointers — along with making 5 of 6 foul shots. He also had five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a block.

Most of his damage occurred in the second quarter, where he scored 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting, making 3 of 4 3-pointers. He also had a block and a steal while logging 10:12 of the quarter.

Critics will point out that George’s domination came against the Eastern Conference’s next-to-last-place Wizards squad, who were missing five players due to injuries.

But he has been playing well all season. And he usually steps up when his number is called. So his second-quarter dominance is why the Sixers signed him to a four-year, $211.5 million contract last season. It’s also the type of domination that quiets the critics who say that the 35-year-old is washed.

The selfless player is comfortable deferring to Embiid, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe so they can all shine. He sees his role as someone who can play quality defense, help run the offense, and step up when needed. And George stepped up in the second quarter, which is always a good sign for the Sixers.

©2026 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.