Joel Embiid Ruled Out for Remainder of Game 4 vs. Wizards
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid left Monday night's game on the road against the Washington Wizards with an injury. Late in the first quarter, Philly's big man went up for a tough layup over Washington center Robin Lopez.
In the process of his layup attempt, Embiid took a hard fall on his back as he crashed down onto the floor. After the sequence, Embiid was visibly in pain. Shortly after, Embiid went back to the Sixers' locker room at the Capital One Arena to get checked out.
Meanwhile, the Sixers missed his presence a lot on the floor as the momentum of the game shifted. Washington's big man Robin Lopez took advantage of the mismatch without Embiid on the floor and led the charge for the Wizards by scoring eight points in the second quarter, totaling for 14 points in the first half.
After going to the locker room, Embiid missed the entire second quarter for the Sixers. By the time halftime rolled around, the Sixers had ruled Embiid out for the rest of the night as he's dealing with knee soreness, according to team officials.
He leaves the matchup after playing just 11 minutes. During that time, Embiid shot 2-for-6 from the field, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, collecting eight points.
Without Embiid on the floor, the Sixers will have to rely on Dwight Howard to pick up his minutes at center. Behind Howard, the 76ers will use the veteran power forward Mike Scott for the remainder of the game.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.