Embiid injured in first game back
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WASHINGTON • The Philadelphia 76ers are "hoping for the best" after star centre Joel Embiid exited in the third quarter of Friday's National Basketball Association (NBA) game at the Washington Wizards.
Embiid missed the rest of the Sixers' 127-101 win, and he was due to undergo an MRI exam yesterday. He finished with a team-high 23 points in 20 minutes.
After throwing down a dunk, he landed awkwardly on his left knee and remained on the floor for several minutes. The Athletic reported that he eventually limped to the locker room on his own.
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said: "He just fell awkwardly. I thought there was a little contact when he went up to dunk the ball. I thought he fell with his balance off. I'm not going to speculate.
"I'm hoping for the best. I did talk to him; he was in the locker room. He was in pretty good spirits, so let's just hope for the best."
Embiid was back in action on Friday after missing the NBA All-Star Game last Sunday and the 76ers' first game after the break on Thursday because of Covid-19 contact tracing protocols.
The four-time All-Star was in the starting line-up at Washington after quarantining for seven days and receiving a negative polymerase chain reaction result on Friday, marking his seventh consecutive day of negative tests.
Teammate Ben Simmons, an All-Star guard, has not yet been cleared to return, needing one more day of clean testing.
The duo reportedly were exposed to a barber in Philadelphia who tested positive for the coronavirus last Sunday. Neither player had contact with other All-Stars upon arriving in Atlanta for the All-Star weekend.
Embiid, who turns 27 on Tuesday, entered play on Friday averaging 30.2 points and 11.6 rebounds in 30 games this season and is an MVP (Most Valuable Player) candidate. Simmons, 24, is averaging 16.1 points 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 to improve to 26-12.
The victory kept Philadelphia atop the Eastern Conference, moving them a full game ahead of the second-placed Brooklyn Nets.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
