Joel Embiid suffered a broken sinus after being hit while trying to get a defensive rebound in the first half of the Philadelphia 76ers’ loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
Embiid was hit in the bridge of the nose by errant forearms and elbows against Indiana’s Benedict Maturin. As the game continued, Embiid collapsed and stayed near the Philadelphia bench with his face covered.
Embiid left Wells Fargo Center for evaluation, and the 76ers later announced a sinus fracture. The team said he will undergo further evaluation this weekend.
In Philadelphia’s 121-107 loss to the Pacers, Embiid had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in 17.5 minutes.
Embiid played in just his sixth of Philadelphia’s 23 games. He was suffering from swelling in his left knee and was suspended for three games for getting into a physical altercation with a reporter.
Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George — dubbed Philadelphia’s “Big Three” after George’s offseason arrival — have played just three games together. The 76ers have a record of 7 wins and 16 losses this season.
“When we practice again, you have to keep going and practice and have a next man mentality,” said Maxey, who led Philadelphia with 22 points. “The bad thing is we’re going in the right direction. Guys are figuring out their roles, what the coach is asking of them and playing the right way. We know how to play with Joel — right now, we might not have to Not having second thoughts about playing without him. It’s just different.”
Embiid also suffered multiple injuries to his face, including an orbital fracture after a collision with Toronto’s Pascal Siakam during the 2022 playoffs, and an orbital fracture after a collision with teammate Markelle Fultz in 2018 Orbital bone fracture. Last year, Embiid suffered Bell’s Palsy during a first-round playoff loss to New York.
Embiid’s responsibilities ESPN After Sunday’s win in Chicago, he said his left knee issues this season have been “frustrating” because the swelling is not related to the injury. It’s Philadelphia’s last game before Friday.
“He’s been in a really good shape all week, and he’s been practicing all week,” coach Nick Nurse said when asked about Embiid’s mental state. “We did a lot of things to keep up with him. But I can imagine he could feel the dark cloud hanging over him a little bit. He just kept running into things that were, really, unfortunate.”
