Philadelphia 76ers’ Jared McCain Returns After Hard Fall vs Pacers

Jared McCain had an injury scare on Friday night against the Pacers.

Dec 4, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) looks on during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Heading into their Friday night matchup against the Indiana Pacers, the Philadelphia 76ers looked forward to having most of the team healthy. Although the rookie center Adem Bona and the veteran forward Caleb Martin were ruled out, the rest of the non-two-way players were healthy and ready to roll.

Midway through the game, the Sixers were down two key players at a point.

The rookie Jared McCain was the second player to go down after hitting his head in the third quarter. After getting helped up, McCain was taken out of the game and immediately went back to the 76ers’ locker room to get checked out.

Sixers' rookie Jared McCain comes down hard on his back, possibly hitting his head on the hardwood (no clear shot of the impact but the sound isn't great).

McCain stood up but looked disoriented and has been pulled from the game. pic.twitter.com/58dKj5kwSn

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) December 14, 2024

Fortunately, that wasn’t the end of McCain’s night. After getting assessed for a concussion, McCain cleared protocol. Not long after he left the court, the rookie returned to the action.

McCain initially left the game after spending 19 minutes on the court. During that time, he shot 2-4 from the field to score five points off the bench. The rookie also had three assists.

Prior to McCain’s temporary exit, the Sixers lost the seven-time All-Star center Joel Embiid.

Late in the second quarter, Embiid took an elbow to the face. The big man was down on the court for a bit before getting helped off. He went straight back to the team’s locker room to get checked out before the intermission.

When the Sixers returned to the court for the start of the second half, Embiid was noticeably absent. Shortly after the game started back up, the Sixers ruled out Embiid for the remainder of the game. A team official noted that he was undergoing further testing due to an “impact to the right side of the face.”

Embiid left the game after producing 12 points, four rebounds, and five assists in 17 minutes of action. Friday’s matchup was his second game back since returning from a seven-game absence.