Joel Embiid briefly left Game 1 with knee injury, returned to Sixers-Knicks series after halftime
Embiid went down after a second-quarter dunk and held his surgically-repaired left knee.
Joel Embiid went to the locker room with 2 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first half after injuring his left knee.
The 76ers center appeared to land awkwardly and bumped knees with Mitchell Robinson after delivering a nasty dunk in Game 1 of his team’s first-round matchup against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. He would later return after halftime.
This is the second time the reigning MVP has injured the knee since his April 1 return. Embiid, who recently made it back on the court after tearing his left meniscus on Jan. 30 against the Golden State Warriors, injured his knee on April 12 after scoring on a Euro step in the second quarter. He went to the locker room to get his knee checked out during that game, but returned after intermission.
He missed the Sixers’ regular-season finale against the Brooklyn Nets on April 14 for what the team called precautionary reasons.
Embiid has 18 points, five rebounds and two assists against the Knicks, who lead 58-46 at the half.
But this started out as a good night for the reigning MVP.
He accounted for 61.8% of the Sixers’ 34 first-quarter points. He had 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting and made all four of his free throws. Embiid also had two assists that created six points.
The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder played the entire quarter despite taking a blow near his left eye socket.