Joel Embiid's first dunk of season fires up rising Sixers - ESPN

NEW YORK — It took more than two months, but Joel Embiid had his first dunk of the season, and it capped the Philadelphia 76ers' 130-119 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday night.

The win moved Philadelphia (19-14) five games over .500 for the first time this season.

«It was whatever,» said Embiid, who finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. «It was an easy one. I wish it would have been one off the backboard.… That's the next step.»

Toward the end of the lopsided victory, Embiid got the ball under the basket for a transition dunk, which was the final points of the game. Embiid and his teammates reacted to the dunk with a mock celebration.

Rookie VJ Edgecombe, who also scored 26 points, said jokingly that Embiid «actually got up a little bit» on the dunk.

«I was so happy,» said Tyrese Maxey, who led the 76ers with 36 points in his latest scintillating performance of this season. «So now, it's my fault because the play before, I dropped him off a pass, thinking he wasn't going to dunk it. Now he's telling me to throw him a lob. So, I'm going to throw him a lob, and we're going to see how that goes.»

«You saw he wanted to get one,» 76ers coach Nick Nurse said before laughing, «It was a pretty cheap way of getting it, I think. But at least we know he can still dunk, and he can check that off his list.»

It was indicative of the playful mood inside the 76ers' locker room after Philadelphia closed out a 10-day road trip with its third straight victory.

The Knicks (23-12) were playing on the second night of a back-to-back set after losing at home to Atlanta on Friday night, but using that as an excuse for Saturday's loss would undersell Philadelphia's performance.

The win was a reminder of the Sixers'