The Philadelphia 76ers are back to waiting on star big man Joel Embiid, who they hoped might make his debut against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in Inglewood, Calif.
The 76ers, off to a 1-5 start without their former MVP, lost 118-116 to the Phoenix Suns on Monday. Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points, and Guerschon Yabusele added 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists off the bench. This marked Philadelphia’s third consecutive loss as they began a three-game Western Conference road trip.
Embiid was reportedly in consideration to make his season debut against the Clippers after dealing with a lingering left knee injury. However, he now faces a three-game suspension handed down by the NBA on Tuesday following an altercation on Saturday with a newspaper columnist who referenced Embiid’s son and late brother in a piece.
If the 76ers list Embiid as available for Wednesday’s game, the three-game suspension would begin, targeting a Nov. 12 season debut at home against the New York Knicks. Paul George made his debut for the 76ers on Monday, scoring 15 points in 32 minutes on 4-of-14 shooting after dealing with his own knee issue. He missed a game-tying jumper from 23 feet with 3.1 seconds remaining.
George, a Los Angeles-area native, is now set to face the team he departed after five seasons. He averaged 23.0 points in 263 regular-season games with the Clippers. The Clippers are familiar with missing star performers. Besides George’s departure in free agency, Kawhi Leonard has been unable to play due to a chronic knee issue and remains out indefinitely.
After losing their first three home games, the Clippers secured their first win in their new $2 billion Intuit Dome, rallying for a 113-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Los Angeles trailed by 26 points at the end of the first quarter but chipped away until taking a 93-91 lead with 7:25 remaining on a three-pointer from Norman Powell, who finished with a team-high 23 points.
Amir Coffey added 21 points for the Clippers, with 19 of those coming in the second half on 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range. James Harden contributed 17 points and eight assists after not making his first basket until the closing seconds of the first half.
Harden made three more three-pointers on Tuesday, bringing his career total to 2,958, just 15 shy of matching Ray Allen for second on the all-time list. Stephen Curry leads with 3,762.
