While disappointed with Sixers’ loss, Joel Embiid happy to get Game 2 performance ‘out of the way’

Embiid, who said he's supposed to be out 4-6 weeks because of his LCL sprain, figured he would need to fight off some rust in his first game back.

Sixers center Joel Embiid watches his teammates on the court during the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal playoffs at TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published May 4, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

BOSTON — Joel Embiid could have waited until Friday to return.

That would have given the 76ers center two more days to rest his sprained right knee. His teammates gave him a nice cushion by taking a 1-0 Eastern Conference semifinals series advantage over the Boston Celtics without him Monday.

So no one would have questioned Embiid if he sat out Wednesday’s 121-87 Game 2 loss to the Celtics at TD Garden.

“The way I saw it, what I have, I’m … supposed to be out 4-to-6 weeks or something like that,” Embiid said of his Grade 2 lateral collateral ligament sprain. “So I’m not gonna be 100% for that whole time. I’m not gonna be fully healed for that whole time. I felt pretty good to play and I feel like I can help the team defensively and offensively.”

Translation: If he felt good and two days wouldn’t make any difference, the obvious choice was to play.

So the newly minted MVP was back on the court 13 days after suffering going down in Game 3 of the Sixers’ first-round series. As expected, Embiid, who donned a knee brace, battled through some rust. He finished with 15 points on 4-for-9 shooting. He also made 7 of 8 free throws while blocking five shots.

But Embiid scored only two points in the third quarter, and sat out the fourth quarter of the blowout loss.

“Obviously, offensively, I wasn’t as aggressive,” said the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder, who averaged a league-best 33.1 points in the regular season. “I was just trying to let the game come to me. And then defensively, just protecting the rim. I think I did a fine job when it comes to that. So I just felt like being up 1-0 and having a chance to go up 2-0 against this type of team.”

He wanted to help provide his team a lift. Embiid also knew he would be rusty no matter when he returned.

“I felt like just get this out of the way,” he said. “Disappointed by the loss. But that’s a step towards getting back to myself. Obviously, I have a lot of work to do and that starts tonight and tomorrow to make sure I’m ready for Friday.”

Now, the series heads to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4 at the Wells Fargo Center. Embiid said he will monitor his mobility and any potential swelling overnight to determine his status for Game 3.

“That’s the biggest thing,” he said. “Just gotta cross your fingers and hope that it doesn’t, and treatment around the clock to make sure you’re as good as possible. I think I should be fine.

“I play through a lot. Last year, broken face, fingers, played through it all. Even with the concern that I could lose my vision if I got hit. So I’m gonna keep playing through anything. We got a big chance [to win an NBA title], so gotta take advantage of it and make sure we’re all ready for Game 3.”