Joel Embiid's dominant presence in the paint with his 20 points and Robert Covington's gritty performance helped the Philadelphia 76ers earn their 10th win of the season with a 105-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. This has also marked the matching of the team's total wins of last year.

Embiid's impact

Rookie Joel Embiid, still on a restricted playing time after missing the past two seasons after undergoing two serious foot surgeries, connected on 8 of 14 shots from the floor that game. As per Yahoo! Sports, He scored 12 of his total points after halftime when the Sixers outscored the Nets 59-38.

Embiid finished off his 14th 20-point game of the season by hitting two free throws to seal the game, along with Sixers fans chanting "Trust the Process," in reference to the team's rebuilding mantra. After two grueling seasons, Embiid is now finally a key part of that overhaul process.

He was drafted 3rd overall during the 2014 NBA Draft but was then sidelined due to injury.

Covington's solid performance

According to Philippines News, Robert Covington received not one but two pokes in the eye to go along with a bloodied lip, all while scoring 15 points. Despite all the hard hits and cheap shots, his grittiness and tenacity were also a contributing factor towards the win.

His presence was felt on each side of the court, scoring and stop the ball on multiple occasions.

"It's just a matter of continuing to play despite all the adversity," Covington said. "In basketball, you're going to get bumps and bruises. It's just a matter of mental toughness to keep going no matter what."

"I'm not going to let my team down just because I'm hurting," added Covington, who drained a key three-pointer with 1:57 remaining to seal the deal for the 76ers.

"This is the city of Philadelphia and we need that grit," said Sixers head coach Brett Brown. "We needed to build it through defense and toughness to win some games and bring this city to the top again."

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