Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid looks at his injured finger during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Philadelphia.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid is consulting a specialist about the dislocated finger on his left hand and will miss the 76ers’ home NBA game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
Embiid suffered the ugly-looking injury to the fourth finger of his left hand in the first quarter of the Sixers’ victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Embiid went to the locker room and had the damaged finger taped up and returned to score 18 points with nine rebounds and eight assists.
Joel Embiid, with dislocated finger, leads 76ers past Thunder
The big man from Cameroon said after the game that he was “basically playing with one hand” but he was determined to contribute as the 76ers broke a four-game losing streak.
“I just wanted to make sure that I do everything possible to try to get us a win, and I’m glad we got the win,” he said.
Embiid missed practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, and teammate Al Horford acknowledged that being without him would require some adjustment.
“Obviously we will miss Joel, but we have to find a way to play,” said Horford, who will likely move from power forward to center in place of Embiid.
“Probably more ball movement at times and just do different things because we don’t have the luxury of being able to throw it to him in the post and do somethings like that.
“As a group, we have to adjust to that.”