Nick Nurse liked the way Joel Embiid looked Thursday night, and for the 76ers, that was the kind of encouraging readout they needed.
Philadelphia beat the Toronto Raptors 123-112, and after the game Nurse said Embiid’s movement had been trending the wrong way in recent outings before showing signs of life against Toronto. “It’s nice to see the movement spark come back. When he’s driving the ball, he’s feeling pretty good,” Nurse said, via Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.
That matters because Embiid has been working through a string of physical issues. Earlier this month, he said he had been playing through plantar fasciitis for several weeks.
“You feel it on the court, so it surely does not help,” Embiid said at the time.
The bumps kept coming. In Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, Embiid took a hard fall under the rim and limped to the locker room before coming back out to start the second half.
Then against the Raptors, he had another scare in the first quarter when he collided with Ja’Kobe Walter while setting a screen and went down pointing to his right knee. Medical staff helped him to the locker room, but he eventually returned.
Even with the scares and the obvious wear, Embiid still produced. He finished with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting, plus four rebounds and three assists. He also hit six of seven free throws.
Tyrese Maxey paced Philadelphia with 27 points and eight assists, and Anfernee Simons added 17 points while knocking down five of his six 3-point tries. The win pushed the Sixers to 10-3.
Philadelphia now heads into a back-to-back, with the Indiana Pacers on Sunday and the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, a stretch that could give the team a chance to keep an eye on Embiid’s workload.
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Sixers Just Lost Another Possible Answer Behind Embiid
The Sixers search for frontcourt stability has become a familiar subplot, and it only got a little more complicated with Dwight Powell now settling in with Fenerbahce in the EuroLeague after the Mavericks moved on from him. Philadelphia has been working through a shortage of dependable backup centers, a problem made worse by injuries and a thin free-agent market that has not offered many clean solutions behind Joel Embiid.
Powell was the kind of veteran stopgap the Sixers could have used as they try to survive the long stretch of the season without overtaxing Embiid. Instead, they will likely have to keep looking for another body and another layer of insurance at center, because the current options do not offer much security if the rotation gets tested again. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Overcame One Scary Joel Embiid Moment In Much Needed Win
The 76ers needed a steady night at home, and they got one after shaking off an early first-quarter deficit to beat the Raptors 123-112. Tyrese Maxey kept the offense moving with 27 points and eight assists, while Joel Embiid still managed 20 points even after a brief knee scare that had the building holding its breath for a moment.
For a team that has already had to navigate absences, the win carried extra value as Philadelphia improved to 10-3 and kept itself on track in the Eastern Conference race. The Sixers also did it with a shortened rotation, while Toronto was missing key pieces of its own, making Embiids early scare feel like the kind of subplot that could have changed the entire feel of the night. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Got The Relief They Needed After Joel Embiid's Early Scare
Joel Embiid gave the 76ers an early scare against Toronto when he went down with a knee injury, a moment that briefly shifted the mood in a game Philadelphia was already trying to manage without LeBron James in the lineup. The Raptors were shorthanded themselves, missing Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes, but the bigger concern for the Sixers was whether their centerpiece would be able to continue after the opening jolt.
Embiid did return, and Philadelphia steadied itself enough to pull away for a 123-112 win after a sluggish start. Tyrese Maxey and Anfernee Simons helped spark the offense with key plays when the Sixers needed them most, turning what could have been a nervous night into a much-needed result. [Read more 🡒]