Sixers’ Joel Embiid available, gets chance to redeem himself vs. Toronto Raptors

Joel Embiid will play in the 76ers’ much-anticipated game against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers center missed Saturday’s 141-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers with a bruised left hip. After that game, Sixers point guard Ben Simmons said Embiid would return Sunday. However, the team made it official Sunday at 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, Matisse Thybulle (sprained right ankle) is also avaliable. Josh Richardson (right hamstring tightness), Jonah Bolden (right Achilles soreness) and Zhaire Smith (lower leg laceration) are all out.

Thybulle suffered a sprained ankle in the first half of Saturday’s game and didn’t return after intermission. The rookie went through a pregame warmup at the arena to determine his status for the game.

Richardson will miss his sixth consecutive game.

Embiid apparently bruised his hip during Thursday’s 119-113 road loss to the Washington Wizards. The two-time All-Star center reported discomfort following the game and is being treated for the bruise.

Now he’s fresh for what could be a redemption game for Embiid.

He was held scoreless in the Sixers’ 101-96 road loss to the Raptors on Nov. 25, failing to score a point in 32 minutes while missing all 11 shots from the field and going 0-for-3 from the foul line.

One could argue that his struggles had to do with facing Marc Gasol. Embiid has shot just 29.3% overall and 5% on three-pointers in six career head-to-head regular-season contests against the Raptors center.

Richardson last played on Nov. 27 against Sacramento. The shooting guard sat out the second half of that game with the hamstring tightness. It was Richardson’s third game back after missing two games with right hip flexor tightness.

Richardson is averaging 16.1 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.1 steals in 16 games this season. Embiid, who has missed five games overall games, is averaging 22.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks.

Thybulle is averaging 4.0 points, 1.4 steals and 16.0 minutes this season.

The Sixers (16-7) are 11-0 at home and are .018 percentage points out of fourth place behind the Raptors (15-6) in the Eastern Conference standings.