Plot gets twist in win over Clippers

PHILADELPHIA » M. Night Shyamalan could not have scripted a twist ending from his courtside seat as implausible as this one: The 76ers pulled off a stunner over the 30-win Clippers without injured center Joel Embiid.

Nerlens Noel scored 19 points, Richaun Holmes had 18 and Philadelphia beat Los Angeles 121-110 on Tuesday night.

The Sixers rallied from 19 points down and proved yet again they are now a team trying to win games instead of tank seasons.

“We come here, put in the work every day and it’s starting to show for us on the floor,” Holmes said.

Embiid, out with a left knee contusion, waved his arms from the bench as the crowd shouted “Trust the Process” in the waning minutes.

Noel had three blocked shots in Embiid’s spot and the Sixers hit 10 3-pointers to spur the second-half rally.

The Sixers are 3-10 without Embiid this season.

Blake Griffin, a five-time All-Star, scored 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting in his first game since Dec. 18. He averaged 21.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season, and played in 26 of the Clippers’ first 28 games.

Embiid continues to be hampered by the knee he hurt on Friday night. He’s scheduled to sit out Wednesday night’s game at Milwaukee because he does not play in one game of back-to-back sets.

The Sixers listed 17,591 at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday, another stout crowd for a franchise coming off one of the worst stretches of seasons in NBA history. Embiid’s growing popularity has forced the Sixers to at least consider playing him only the home game when they play on consecutive nights.

“We are mindful that our fans want to see Joel play,” coach Brett Brown said. “It’s one of several layers that influence the decision on when to play Joel. But it’s certainly on our mind to do the right thing by our fans.”