3 Biggest Takeaways For Sixers Following Home Win Over Timberwolves

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers were able to handle business against the Minnesota Timberwolves as they earned a 115-103 win at home. The Sixers have now won two in a row and four of their last five which coincided with Joel Embiid and Paul George returning to the floor.

George had 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists, Embiid had 19 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists, Tyrese Maxey had 21 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, and Dominick Barlow added seven points and 10 rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 21 points and Quentin Grimes added 10.

Here are the three biggest takeaways following a win over the Timberwolves:

George getting downhill

For the Sixers to get to where they want to go, George has to be at his absolute best. He continues to show signs of getting back to normal and Friday was another step in the right direction. He shot 10 free throws as he was driving into the paint against a physical Timberwolves team and was able to get to the foul line. That means he trusted his body to be able to make those moves along with taking the contact and powering through every challenge in front of him on the night. That opens up opportunities for others and it allowed the Sixers to get into the bonus early.

"I think it's more of a fact that his shot-making has been so good that teams are pressing up on him," said coach Nick Nurse. "They're almost forcing him—they're pressing up so so much on the perimeter to take away the 3-ball. It's hard to do both sometimes, right? So they're really getting into him and almost forcing him inside the line, and he's been able to take it down there, and it's been good because he's been drawing fouls on those, too, which is also a huge. It kind of adds up for everybody else, if he can draw a couple of those in a quarter."

Drummond provides a spark...again

The Sixers turned to Andre Drummond in the second half after some tough Adem Bona minutes in the first half, and he delivered. In nine minutes, Drummond was a plus-11 as he had four points, grabbed six rebounds, came up with a steal, and had a block. Just like in the win over the Charlotte Hornets on the road trip, he came up in a big way for Philadelphia as he was able to make things happen in a positive way for this group. The Sixers were able to walk away with a win thanks to his efforts against Timberwolves big men Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, and Julius Randle.

"He was great," Maxey said of Drummond. "He's been like, really good the past week or so I've been back as well. So, I just been giving him his flowers. Telling him that he's been great."

Embiid turns it around after halftime

It was a tough half for the big fella as he shot just 1-for-10 in the first half, but he was able to turn things around and help the Sixers in the second half. He had 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting after halftime along with six rebounds and four assists while also providing some elite rim protection. Embiid is still one of the more dominant big men in the league. It's more so just about making sure he is ready to go for when the time calls for it. Or, if you ask him, it's just about shots falling.

"Just pushing through it," said Embiid. "Obviously, the first half, I missed a lot of easy shots, and then in the second half, I got a little bit closer. So yeah, just happened to make more shots. That's all there is."

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following home win over Timberwolves