Embiid scored 18 points in 30 minutes in his return for the 76ers after missing nine games due to injuries.
Johnson broke a tie with his third 3 of the game and hit another on the next possession to give the Hawks their fourth win in five games.
Tyrese Maxey scored 44 points for the 76ers and hit a pair of clutch shots, one that forced OT and another that gave them the lead late in the first overtime. Maxey, an 88% free throw shooter, missed two from the line that could have extended the lead to four, but instead the Sixers lost in the final seconds of OT.
The 76ers’ Dominic Barlow was whistled for a foul with 1.1 seconds remaining. Nickel Alexander-Walker tied the two at 126, sending them into the second OT.
Alexander-Walker had 34 points and eight rebounds.
Embiid last played in the 76ers’ win over Toronto on November 8 and was officially out the next night against Detroit because he was not cleared to play in the back-to-back after recovering from surgery on his left knee in April. The 2023 NBA MVP, the 76ers, said it was Embiid’s right knee soreness that kept him from playing until Sunday.
The 76ers played their All-Star trio of Embiid, the oft-injured Paul George and Maxey in the starting lineup for the first time this season. George scored 16 points.
Quentin Grimes scored 28 points for the Sixers.
The Hawks started the fourth with a 13–0 run, leading by seven and being in control until Maxey led a late charge for the Sixers.
Hawks: Monday night at Detroit
76ers: Host Washington on Tuesday night.
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