Joel Embiid's Injury Scare vs. Hawks Caused Concern for 76ers
After dropping 50 points in a road matchup against the Washington Wizards, Joel Embiid followed up with another dominant showing in the Philadelphia 76ers’ home win against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Sixers were all smiles when they defeated Atlanta for the second time this season, putting them away with a 125-114 victory. However, the night was nearly spoiled with a scary scene as Embiid went down, grabbing at his knee after he planted his foot into the ground, driving toward the basket.
After being down for a few seconds, Embiid popped back up and walked gingerly to the other end of the court. It was clear the big man did not intend to head back to the bench. He ended up spending a total of six minutes on the court in the fourth quarter, getting the rest of the night off with just one minute left.
Seeing Embiid finish the game was a positive sight for the Sixers, but the head coach, Nick Nurse, confirmed he was “for sure” concerned about what happened after the game.
“I mean, I don’t have a lot of information for you,” said Nurse. “I did talk to Simon, and he said he did watch it on film.”
Embiid had yet to review the play after the game when he addressed reporters for the first time since the incident. Recalling the moment in his mind, Embiid explained what happened from his perspective.
“I just twisted it,” said the center. “We’re gonna talk about it and see how I feel.”
According to Nurse, the Sixers plan to re-visit how Embiid feels on Saturday morning. “You kind of gotta give it an overnight to see what happens to it and all that kind of stuff,” Nurse explained. “So we’ll update you when we can.”
Considering Embiid’s injury history, the Sixers won’t feel comfortable until it’s confirmed that he avoided any sort of setback during the scare. For what it’s worth, the All-Star center is confident that he’s not dealing with anything severe.
“I should be fine,” Embiid claimed.
Embiid wrapped up his 36-minute shift against Atlanta with a 38-point double-double, collecting 14 rebounds, dishing out three assists, and blocking four shots on the defensive end. The Sixers will take the day off on Saturday before they begin preparing for their matchup against the Washington Wizards, which is set to take place on Monday.
