Joel Embiid, star center of the Philadelphia 76ers, will undergo an MRI after suffering hyperextension in his left knee on Friday night in the game against the Washington Wizards, sources for ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said.
Embiid was in the middle of the last dominant performance of his MVP caliber season, scoring 23 points on 8 of 11 shots to accompany seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 20 minutes, when he caught a pass from Tobias Harris and he flew to give a beating. to give Philadelphia an 80-60 lead, with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
But when Embiid fell to the ground after the dive, all the weight of his body landed on his left leg, causing him to extend, sending him to the ground and causing him to writhe in pain.
After remaining on the ground for a few minutes, Embiid finally got up and walked away on his own, albeit with a rather sharp limp, as he headed straight for the visitors’ locker room at Washington Capital One Arena.
Embiid is expected to undergo an MRI once the team returns to Philadelphia, sources said.
Embiid had an equally terrifying situation last month when he extended his right knee in a strange blow against the Portland Trail Blazers after blocking a stretch from Enes Kanter. In that game, Embiid came back a few minutes later and dominated, scoring 31 points in the first half in a game that Philadelphia eventually lost.
Philadelphia recaptured Embiid on Friday night after he and Ben Simmons missed Thursday’s victory in Chicago against the Bulls, as well as Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, following contacts from a hairdresser the two stars visited. before heading to Atlanta.
Simmons remained on Friday, but was expected to return, assuming he would not give positive results for COVID-19 until then for Sunday’s game in Philadelphia against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Sixers will remain at the top of the Eastern Conference with a victory Friday night, moving a full game to the second-place Brooklyn Nets.