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Joel Embiid injures knee in first game back with Sixers
LOS ANGELES, March 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid
emerged from quarantine Friday only to exit his first game back with a left
knee injury in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 127-101 win over the Washington
Wizards.
Embiid, who missed Sunday’s All-Star Game because of Covid-19
restrictions, landed awkwardly on his left knee and fell to the floor halfway
through the third quarter.
He was attended to by Sixers trainer Kevin Johnson before getting up and
walking to the dressing room on own. The team said he had a hyperextended
left knee and would not return.
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers spoke to Embiid after the game and the all-
star was in a positive mood. Rivers said team doctors would examine Embiid
further on Saturday once the swelling went down.
“He fell with off balance. I am not going to speculate,” Rivers said of
Embiid, who finished with a team high 23 points. “He is in pretty good
spirits. Let’s hope for the best.”
Embiid shot eight-of-11 from the floor and had seven rebounds and three
assists in 20 minutes of playing time.
The Sixers led the Wizards 80-60 when Embiid was hurt. He had surgery on
the same knee in 2017.
Embiid, who turns 27 on Tuesday, was playing in his first game after
receiving a negative test for Covid-19 earlier Friday.
Teammate Ben Simmons, who also missed the All-Star Game last weekend, has
not yet been cleared to play, needing another negative test to be green
lighted after he and Embiid were exposed to a Philadelphia barber who tested
positive for the coronavirus early Sunday.
Embiid entered Friday averaging 30.2 points and 11.6 rebounds in 30 games
this season.
Simmons is averaging 16.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 31
games.
Despite missing Embiid for almost half the game and Simmons for the whole
game, the Sixers still managed to win their fourth straight.
Shooting guard Shake Milton came off the bench to score 18 points and
Tobias Harris tallied 14 points and eight assists in the win.
The victory kept Philadelphia atop the Eastern Conference, moving them a
full game ahead of the second-place Brooklyn Nets.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1026 hrs