NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid on Friday emerged from quarantine only to exit in the third quarter with a left-knee injury as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 127-101 in Washington.
Embiid, who missed the All-Star Game on Sunday last week because of COVID-19 restrictions, threw down a dunk and landed awkwardly on his left knee before falling 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 his own.
Photo: Brad Mills-USA TODAY
The team said that he had a hyperextended left knee and would not return.
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers spoke to Embiid after the game and said that the player was upbeat.
Team doctors were to examine Embiid further once the swelling went down, Rivers said.
Photo: AFP
“He fell off balance. I am not going to speculate,” Rivers said of Embiid, who finished with a team high 23 points. “He was in the locker room. He is in pretty good spirits. Let’s hope for the best.”
The victory kept Philadelphia atop the Eastern Conference, moving them a full game ahead of the second-place Brooklyn Nets.
Embiid shot eight-of-11 from the floor and had seven rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes of playing time.
Photo: AFP / NBAE
The Sixers led the Wizards 80-60 when Embiid was hurt.
He had surgery on the same knee in 2017 causing him to miss part of the season.
“It looked like a hyperextension. That’s what we all hope it is,” teammate Tobias Harris said. “We’re just praying that he’ll be OK and be healthy tomorrow [yesterday].”
Embiid, who turns 27 on Tuesday, was playing in his first game after receiving a negative test for COVID-19 earlier on Friday.
Despite missing Embiid for almost half the game, the Sixers still won their fourth straight.
Shooting guard Shake Milton came off the bench to score 18 points, while Harris tallied 14 points and eight assists in the win.
Russell Westbrook led the Wizards with 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds, while Bradley Beal added 19 points.
Elsewhere, Kyle Kuzma finished with a team high 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a clutch steal with 10 seconds left as the Los Angeles Lakers clawed their way back in the final quarter to beat the Indiana Pacers 105-100.
LeBron James finished with 18 points and 10 assists, and Montrezl Harrell had 17 points for the Lakers, who were playing their first game since the All Star break.
The time off seemed to help the Lakers, who had lost two straight heading into the break and were 4-7 over their past 11 games.
“The break did exactly what I expected it to do,” Caldwell-Pope said. “I recovered. I caught up on rest and I’m mentally prepared.”
The Pacers led for most of the game and had an opportunity to send it into overtime, but with Los Angeles ahead 103-100, Caldwell-Pope stole a pass from Indiana with 10 seconds left. He then sunk a pair of free throws to seal the win.
In Memphis, Nikola Jokic finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, and defended a Ja Morant layup attempt with three seconds left as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 103-102.
In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points as the Utah Jazz handed the hapless Houston Rockets their 15th straight defeat with a 114-99 victory.
In other games on Friday, it was:
‧ Spurs 104, Magic 77
‧ Bulls 90, Heat 101
‧ Pelicans 116, Cavaliers 82
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