PHILADELPHIA -- Joel Embiid returned to the starting lineup for the 76ers on Sunday against Atlanta after he missed the last nine games in large part because of a sore right knee.
Embiid had played in only six of 20 games and averaged 19.7 points and 5.5 rebounds for a Sixers team that has hovered around .500 without him. The 76ers are 4-2 with Embiid.
The 76ers upgraded Embiid to questionable on the injury report on Sunday afternoon and the two-time NBA scoring champion was cleared to play after his pregame workout.
The 76ers played for the first time this season with their All-Star trio of Embiid, oft-injured Paul George and Tyrese Maxey together in the starting lineup.
The 31-year-old Embiid was limited to 19 games last season and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in April following an injury-plagued season that also included a sprained left foot and a sinus fracture. He was ruled out for the season in late February after averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Auto racing
One week after losing all their points from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren threw away a bunch more in an increasingly tense Formula 1 title race by botching a strategy call at the Qatar GP.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen took full advantage of the unexpected gift to clinch a seventh win this season -- his 70th overall -- as he closed the gap on championship leader Lando Norris from 24 points at the start of the weekend to 12 points, heading into next Sunday's title decider in Abu Dhabi.
McLaren still has two drivers in contention, with Oscar Piastri four points behind Verstappen in third, but must stop the slide.
Last Sunday, the two drivers lost a combined 30 points after both were disqualified following the race, won by Verstappen.
On Sunday, after an early safety car, McLaren’s decision to keep both drivers out backfired badly as Verstappen effectively benefited from a free tire change in a mandatory two-stop race.
Skiing
COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. -- American standout Mikaela Shiffrin dominated a World Cup slalom on home Colorado snow to remain perfect in the discipline during the Olympic season.
Shiffrin extended her winning streak in slalom to four races after also claiming the opening two races this season and the final event of last season.
It was Shiffrin's record-extending 104th World Cup victory and her 67th in slalom -- extending the discipline record, too.
Skiing through moderate snowfall, Shiffrin added to her first-run advantage and won by a whopping 1.57 seconds ahead of Lena Duerr of Germany, who moved up from ninth after the opening leg.
Soccer
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Thomas Müller knows exactly what it is like to face Lionel Messi with a trophy at stake.
And he knows what it takes to win in those moments, too.
The 2025 MLS Cup final -- Messi and Inter Miami vs. Müller and the Vancouver Whitecaps -- is going to draw a few comparisons from a personnel standpoint to the 2014 World Cup final and 2010 World Cup quarterfinal matches between Argentina and Germany.
Germany, with Müller, won both times. Messi played in those matches for Argentina, as did Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano. They'll all meet again on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, with Müller surely knowing that facing Messi doesn't automatically mean a loss.
"It's not about Messi against Thomas Müller," he told reporters after Vancouver's 3-1 win over San Diego in the Western Conference final on Saturday night. "It's Miami against the Whitecaps."
* Mikel Merino salvaged a 1-1 draw for Arsenal at 10-man Chelsea as the race for the Premier League title tightened. Arsenal is five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, with Chelsea a point further back in third.
Liverpool got back to winning ways, beating West Ham 2-0, and Manchester United rallied to a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.
Aston Villa is fourth after a 1-0 win against last-place Wolverhampton, and fifth-place Brighton won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.