Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid sat out the regular-season finale against Brooklyn on Sunday after he tweaked his surgically repaired left knee in a game last week.
The Sixers still had a chance entering the game of finishing as high as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. They have a shot at finishing fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth. Philadelphia’s only path to No. 5 is to win and for Indiana to lose.
Even against lowly Brooklyn, the 76ers’ path might have gotten more complicated without Embiid.
Embiid hurt his left knee in the final minutes of the first half of Friday night’s game against the Orlando Magic.
Embiid, who missed 29 games after suffering a torn meniscus in a Jan. 30 game at Golden State, landed awkwardly on a layup drive down the lane with about 1:40 left in the second quarter. While play continued, Embiid limped noticeably to midcourt and gave up on the play. He returned to the game in the second half and finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
A year after he was named NBA MVP, Embiid finished the season averaging 34.7 points and 11 rebounds in just 39 games.
