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Montrezl Harrell sits out of Sixers’ preseason game against Cavaliers, joining Joel Embiid

Harrell suffered the strain while helping a teammate from falling Saturday in the annual Blue-White scrimmage at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington.

Montrezl Harrell, center, of the Sixers celebrates after making the game-winning shot the Cavaliers during their preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 5, 2022.
Montrezl Harrell, center, of the Sixers celebrates after making the game-winning shot the Cavaliers during their preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 5, 2022.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

CLEVELAND — Montrezl Harrell will miss Monday’s preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with a right intercostal strain (injured rib muscle).

That left the 76ers with just Paul Reed and Charles Bassey available at center for their matchup against the Cavaliers. All-Star center Joel Embiid did not travel to Ohio with the team, but the Sixers said he is healthy and that missing the game is part of his personal training plan.

The Sixers decided to go with starting lineup of James Harden, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Tyrese Maxey and P.J. Tucker, who will play small-ball center.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid did not travel with Sixers and will sit out preseason game against Cavaliers

Harrell suffered the strain Saturday at the annual Blue-White scrimmage at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington. The fieldhouse is the home court of the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers’ NBA G League affiliate.

While on the bench, the reserve center suffered the injury while protecting teammate Danuel House Jr. from a fall.

“D-House just made a play and kind of lost the ball, and you know hustling out of bounds for a loose ball,” Harrell said. “When he went to jump over the bench, he wasn’t going to make it. So I just kind of grabbed him out of the air so he wouldn’t slip over the bench so he could fall on me.”

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Shake Milton wants to move on from last season, reprise role as second-unit spark plug

While he’s listed as day-to-day, Harrell doesn’t want to push himself and aggravate the nerve injury. As a result, he wouldn’t have played even if this was a regular-season tilt.

“It’s one of those things with the ribcage,” Harrell said. “That’s something you can’t really play around with, man. That’s your lungs and everything down there, breathing and your whole functioning department.

“So if felt how I felt today, I would definitely sit.”