Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid went down with a worrisome injury late in the second quarter of Saturday night's NBA Playoff game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Embiid completed a highlight dunk after passing the ball off the glass and catching it himself before going down and grabbing his knee. The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player then exited the game and headed to the locker room.
76ers star Joel Embiid goes down with scary injury vs. Knicks
As expected, Embiid played a big role for the 76ers early in the Knicks game. In the first half, Embiid, scored 18 points with five rebounds and two assists while shooting 6/11 from the field and 1/3 from behind the arc. The Knicks clearly struggled in the first two quarters in containing Embiid, as he went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in 16 minutes of action.
Embiid appeared on the injury report heading into Game 1 of the Knicks series, but there was little doubt that he would actually miss the contest. It can be recalled that the 30-year-old Embiid missed several games from February to March of the 2023-24 NBA regular season because of a lateral meniscus injury. He was able to finally give it a go and return to action in early April versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, which was one of the five games he played before the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
During that five-game span, Embiid averaged 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks while making 49.5 percent of his attempts from the field and 48.1 percent of his shots from deep. He was looking in form heading into the postseason, but the 76ers may have to scale back his workload in the second half just to be careful. In any case, it must have brought the Sixers and their fans a huge sense of relief to see him start the second half against New York.
The hope for the 76ers and their fans is that Embiid will be healthy enough to stay on the court for as long as Philly survives in the NBA Playoffs.
Embiid and Philly will have a full day of rest on Sunday before going back to work on Monday in Game 2 in the Big Apple before travelling back to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.
Reactions to Joel Embiid's injury scare
“The man carries a franchise when he’s healthy and every spring he is snakebitten. Just brutal. Feel terrible for Embiid,” posted @KevinNegandhi on X (formerly Twitter).
“Man. Truly hope Embiid is ok. That was a wild play,” said Entourage star and big Knicks fan Jerry Ferrara.
“Embiid just came back from a knee injury like a month ago and he decides to do a self alley oop,” said @YoNipplesSoft, who thinks the former Kansas Jayhawks star shouldn't be too adventurous on the court given his injury history.
It's the same thought @chiweethedog had: “What the hell is Embiid thinking attempting that like an uncle at a barbecue in socks and flip flops who tries to dunk on the backyard hoop and falls into the propane grill”
From @KyleNeubeck: “Just a snapshot of Embiid's career. Was absolutely dominant and propping his team up as a lot of them struggled, and now we all wait to see what the extent of the issue is after he leaves due to injury. Really feel for him.”