It was a difficult night for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Joel Embiid injured his left knee in the closing minutes of the 76ers’ 119-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night in San Francisco.
Embiid, who had only 14 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes, suffered the injury with just over four minutes remaining.
Jonathan Kuminga stripped the 29-year-old center when he was backing up Draymond Green. Both players dove for the lost ball, and Kuminga landed on Embiid’s left leg, just below his center knee.
Embiid, the defending NBA MVP, was visibly distressed as he gripped his knee.
He was able to leave the court under his own power, but he did not return.
“So he obviously got landed on, and they’re going to do an MRI (exam) tonight or tomorrow,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said after the game.
Joel Embiid is going to the locker room after Jonathan Kuminga landed on him.
Nurse also stated that the injury is unrelated to the reason for his recent absence.
Despite Nurse’s assertion, Embiid has been dealing with a left knee injury prior to this last accident.
He walked gingerly to the locker room with a wrap around his knee after shooting 1-for-7 in 10 minutes in the first quarter.
The 76ers star did not participate in Saturday’s game against Nikola Jokić and the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
After Embiid completed his usual pregame warmup, Nurse stated that the team’s medical staff “just didn’t like what they saw” and thought it was safer to have Embiid sit out Saturday’s game.
Embiid wore a big wrap around his left knee throughout the game.
He also missed the 76ers’ next game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
Embiid’s injury was exacerbated by the fact that the 76ers (29-17) dropped to fifth place in the NBA Eastern Conference, trailing only the red-hot New York Knicks (31-17), who moved up to third, and the Cleveland Cavaliers (28-16), who are now fourth.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors (20-24) with 37 points, including eight three-pointers, while Kuminga added 26.
