Joel Embiid suffered a sinus fracture in the Philadelphia 76ers‘ 121-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, the latest setback in a season full of them for the All-Star big man.
Embiid was battling Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin for a defensive rebound in the closing seconds of the first half when he caught an errant forearm and elbow to the face. He crumpled to the floor as play continued up the court and stayed down near the Philadelphia bench, holding his face.
The team ruled him out early in the second half because of “impact to the right side of the face” in the cheek and nose area.
Coach Nick Nurse didn’t have an update on Embiid’s status after the game, only to say he still was undergoing testing. The team later said he suffered the sinus fracture and would be reevaluated this weekend.
Embiid had 12 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in 17½ minutes in the loss for the 76ers, who next play at Charlotte on Monday.
He has played in only six of Philadelphia’s 23 games. Embiid has been bothered by swelling in his left knee and served a three-game suspension for a physical incident with a reporter.
Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George — billed as Philadelphia’s big three after George’s offseason arrival — have played parts of only three games together. The Sixers are 7-16 on the season.
“You just have to move on and practice when we practice again and have a next-man-up mentality,” said Maxey, who led Philadelphia with 22 points. “What sucks about this is that we were moving in the right direction. Guys were figuring out roles, what coach wants from them and playing the right way. We know how to play with Joel, and now we may have to revert our minds back to playing without him. That’s OK. It’s different. That’s how life is.”
Embiid has had number of facial injuries, including an orbital bone fracture after a collision with Pascal Siakam during the 2022 playoffs against the Toronto Raptors and one in 2018 after colliding with teammate Markelle Fultz. Last year, Embiid revealed during a first-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks that he had Bell’s palsy.
Embiid told ESPN after Sunday’s win in Chicago that his left knee issues this season were “depressing” because of the swelling not being related to an injury. That was Philadelphia’s last game before Friday.
“He’s been in a really good place all week, and he practiced all week,” Nurse said when asked about Embiid’s state of mind. “We did a lot of stuff to get up to speed with him. But I can imagine that he can feel like the black cloud is over him a little bit. He just keeps running into something, really, unfortunately.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.