Embiid exits Sixers vs. Pacers game after taking hit to face originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
As the Sixers walked out from the locker room to start the second half Friday night, Joel Embiid was not among them.
Early in the third quarter, the Sixers ruled Embiid out for the rest of their matchup vs. the Pacers.
After taking an inadvertent hit to right side of his face from Pacers shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin, Embiid exited the game with 6.5 seconds remaining in the second quarter. He will undergo further testing, a team official said.
As he pursued his own miss inside, Mathurin’s arm hit Embiid’s face. The seven-time All-Star stayed down on the floor for a couple of minutes and went back to the locker room with a towel pressed against his face.
Embiid has been hampered by a troublesome left knee to start this season and missed 17 of the Sixers’ first 23 games. He has a history of facial injuries, suffering a left orbital fracture in 2018 and a right orbital fracture in 2022.
A Sixers official said postgame that Embiid was hit around his right cheek area and that testing was ongoing.
The Sixers began the night without Caleb Martin (right shoulder impingement), Kyle Lowry (lower back spasms) and Adem Bona (left knee tendinopathy). Their Big 3 of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey has played just one full game together so far.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
