Embiid leaves Sixers vs. The Pacers after getting in the face originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
When the Sixers left the locker room to start the second half on Friday night, Joel Embiid was not among them.
Early in the third quarter, the Sixers ruled Embiid out for the rest of the game against the Pacers.
Embiid left the game with 6.5 seconds left in the second quarter after an inadvertent hit to the right side of his face by Pacers shooting guard Bennedikt Mathurin. He will undergo further tests, a team official said.
As he chased his own miss inside, Mathurin’s hand hit Embiid’s face. The seven-time All-Star remained on the ground for several minutes and returned to the locker room with a towel pressed to his face.
Embiid has been hampered by a troublesome left knee since the start of this season and has missed 17 of the Sixers’ first 23 games. He had facial injuries in the past, in 2018 he suffered a fracture of the left eye socket and in 2022 a fracture of the right eye socket.
The Sixers began the night without Caleb Martin (right shoulder impingement), Kyle Lowry (lower back spasms) and Adem Bono (left knee tendinopathy). Their Big 3 of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have played just one full game together thus far.
This is a developing story and will be updated.