Joel Embiid's day was a roller coaster for the Philadelphia 76ers as they hosted the Toronto Raptors. Leading up to the game, Embiid wasn't sure if he was going to play. Listed as questionable, the big man made it clear to reporters after shootaround that he was still up in the air.
The Sixers cleared the star center for action and rolled him out as a starter for his 11th game of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Just a few minutes in, Embiid was knocked to the ground and was pointing at his knee. Uh oh. We've seen that sight before.
Embiid was helped up off the floor and walked slowly back to the locker room with a limp. Most probably would've expected the 76ers to rule him questionable to return at the very least--if not ruling him out for the remainder of the night for precautionary reasons.
But Embiid was back on the bench within moments. Once the game was stopped, Nick Nurse allowed the superstar center to check right back in. Embiid would go on to finish with a quiet--yet solid first half. He played for 14 minutes, shot 3-for-7 from the field, scoring seven points.
Worry no more
For the second game in a row, Embiid started slow, suffered an injury scare, then came back out of the locker room looking slightly better than before. Thursday's action against the Raptors started quiet, but he came out of the half and produced a team-high nine points in nine minutes of the third quarter.
The big man would tack on four more points in four minutes of the fourth quarter. After the 76ers started to pull away convincingly during the third quarter, Nick Nurse allowed Embiid to put on some finishing touches before capping the superstar's night at 28 minutes. After the game, Nurse admitted to reporters that the team had Embiid right around his playing time target. Everything the head coach saw out of Embiid was promising in the second half.
"It's nice to see the movement spark come back," Nurse told reporters, according to PHLY's Derek Bodner. "When he's driving the ball, he's feeling pretty good."
It wasn't the full-on Joel Embiid masterclass the 76ers have been waiting for, but progress is always positive. Embiid shot 41% from the field and hit on all but one of his seven free throws. He finished the game with 20 points, along with three assists, four rebounds, one steal, and one block. The Sixers took down the Raptors 123-112.
Now, Embiid gets a few days off with the team before they open up a back-to-back set against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon.
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