Joel Embiid had a season-high 50 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-126 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Embiid reached 50 points for the sixth time in his career, and he did it with a very efficient shooting night, going 19-of-24 from the field and hitting 11-of-13 free throws. He also had seven assists and six turnovers in just over 38 minutes after returning from a two-game absence with an illness.

Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and seven assists for the 76ers, who have won four of their last five games. Kyle Oubre Jr. returned after missing 11 games due to a hit-and-run incident and had 12 points in 19 minutes.

Jordan Poole led Washington with 23 points. The Wizards are 3-17.

The Wizards led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter, but the 76ers closed the quarter on a 10-0 run and led by eight with 1:50 remaining. Washington cut it to three with 1:25 left, but Embiid hit a jumper and Maxey made a free throw to seal the win.

“I thought the effort, the overall intent was better tonight,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “The defensive disposition was much better. So you come up short, but I thought that was somewhat of a bounce-back for us.”

Embiid was assessed a technical foul for slamming the ball down after being called for traveling with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter. But Embiid’s frustration was a spark, and Philadelphia ended the quarter on a 10-0 run.

“He’s our safety valve – offensively, defensively,” Melton said. “That’s why he’s the MVP. He covers up for a lot of our mistakes defensively and then offensively he can bail us out late and make some shots.”

Tyus Jones had 20 points for Washington, Daniel Gafford added 18 and Kyle Kuzma and Corey Kispert each had 16.