Joel Embiid pledged to play even at 50% after scoring 34 points on his return from injury in the Philadelphia 76ers' 108-98 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Embiid played in a protective mask on Friday after missing a game due to a sinus fracture sustained when he was struck in the face by the Indiana Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin last week.

The former NBA MVP scored 22 of his points in the first quarter and also added nine assists to lift Philadelphia, now 9-16, to within striking distance of a play-in tournament berth.

Embiid has so far played in just seven games this season, having been ravaged by injuries. However, he hopes those difficulties are now firmly behind him.

"I want to play," said Embiid. "I mean, it's tough, especially the freak ones. 

"It's already hard enough getting hit in the face four times! It's still unbelievable, but I want to play. 

"If I can be on the floor even at 50%, I'm going to try to do that."

pic.twitter.com/kc8B4u5rWQ

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024

Embiid will sit out the second leg of Philadelphia's back-to-back, against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, however.

But Sixers coach Nick Nurse was impressed by the condition in which he returned, saying: "I thought he looked good.

"He obviously was scoring the ball after a little bit of a slow start. He got a good number of assists, especially early. He looked pretty good."