Kia MVP Joel Embiid missed the Sixers’ last 2 playoff games due to a right knee injury.
Reigning Kia MVP Joel Embiid returned to start Game 2 of the 76ers’ semifinals playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Philadelphia’s big man scored 15 points in 26 minutes, but the Celtics came away with a 121-87 victory to even the series at 1-1.
Embiid was cleared to play after a successful morning shootaround on Wednesday and a follow-up workout once the team arrived at TD Garden in the afternoon.
tonight's starting five:
🔔 @Tobias31
🔔 P.J. Tucker
🔔 @JoelEmbiid
🔔 @JHarden13
🔔 @TyreseMaxey👕 @alscouniforms pic.twitter.com/MXaoNRMdV5
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 3, 2023
Embiid said during a morning news conference to discuss winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award that he would need to see how his sprained right knee felt before the game on Wednesday night. He was just waiting for the OK from doctors and the team training staff.
Embiid suffered his injury in Game 3 of the 76ers’ first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets and missed the series-clinching Game 4 win on April 22. He was also absent for Game 1 of the East semis against the Boston Celtics, which the 76ers won 119-115.
The return of Embiid to the lineup is a welcome one for the Sixers. He was named Kia MVP on Tuesday and has been the fulcrum for Philadelphia all season.
The 29-year-old Embiid, from Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points this season to win his second straight scoring title. He also averaged 10.2 rebounds and tied a career-high with 4.2 assists per game. He played in 66 games, the second-highest total of his career.
Embiid missed two games in the 2022 East semifinals and another in the first round in 2021 with various injuries, on top of the two he missed to begin the 2018 playoffs with an orbital fracture and another in 2019, also with a knee problem.
He averaged 36.8 points and 11.8 rebounds in four games this season against the Celtics.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
