Joel Embiid returns to action with a 26-point effort against the Celtics in Game 4.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a><\/p>\n PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 Joel Embiid\u2019s surprise return only 17 days after having an\u00a0appendectomy<\/a>\u00a0fell flat and did nothing to help the 76ers stay competitive with Boston.<\/p>\n Embiid had 26 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes, a gutsy effort in his latest return from injury that wasn\u2019t enough to overcome the\u00a0Celtics in their 128-96 Game 4 win<\/a>\u00a0over Philadelphia on Sunday night for a 3-1 lead<\/a> in their first-round playoff series.<\/p>\n Embiid \u2014 who received a roaring ovation in pregame introductions \u2014 wasted little time scoring in his first game since April 6. The two-time NBA scoring champion sank two free throws for the Sixers\u2019 first points of the game, added a monster two-handed jam and scored the team\u2019s first eight points.<\/p>\n Embiid withered after the fast start and missed seven straight shots before converting a three-point play in the third quarter. That cut the Sixers\u2019 deficit to 23 points.<\/p>\n Embiid was listed as doubtful to start the day and was upgraded to questionable about 90 minutes before the scheduled tipoff. Embiid returned to the court wearing a protective brace around his midsection, and was cleared to play about 40 minutes before the start of Game 4.<\/p>\n The 32-year-old Embiid averaged 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds this season after playing in only 19 games in 2024-25. He hasn\u2019t appeared in as many as 40 games in a regular season since 2022-23, when he averaged a career-best 33.1 points and\u00a0earned MVP honors.<\/a><\/p>\n Embiid had an appendectomy in Houston on April 9 after Philadelphia\u2019s star big man was stricken with appendicitis overnight.<\/p>\n Embiid provided nothing more than an early emotional lift to a Sixers team that was a 7 1\/2-point home underdog to the Celtics, according to oddsmakers.<\/p>\n The Celtics won Game 1<\/a> by 32 points and the Sixers responded with a surprise 111-97 win<\/a> in Boston in Game 2. Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points and shot the Sixers into a fourth-quarter lead in Game 3 before Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took over down the stretch for the Celtics in a 108-100 victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n Embiid joined Maxey, rookie standout VJ Edgecombe, Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. in Game 4\u2019s starting lineup.<\/p>\n Embiid\u2019s absence in the SoFi Play-In Tournament win over Orlando<\/a> and the first three playoff games against Boston continues a trend of injury-plagued postseasons.<\/p>\n Such as:<\/p>\n In 2024, Embiid played in the playoffs through a bout with\u00a0Bell\u2019s palsy<\/a>, a form of facial paralysis. He wore sunglasses to the podium after he\u00a0scored 50 points<\/a>\u00a0in the Sixers\u2019 Game 3 win over the Knicks and said at the time he was dealing with various symptoms such as blurred vision and dry eyes.
\nA year earlier, Embiid missed a playoff game in two series because of a\u00a0sprained right knee<\/a>.
\nIn 2022, the Sixers won 51 games under coach Doc Rivers and had a great chance at a deep playoff run until Embiid suffered a\u00a0right orbital fracture<\/a>\u00a0and a concussion when he was hit in the face by Toronto\u2019s Pascal Siakam. He also suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb. Embiid missed two games in a second-round series against Miami. The Sixers lost both games and the series, 4-2.
\nEmbiid missed one game in the 2021 playoffs with a torn meniscus in his right knee.
\nEmbiid missed one playoff game in 2019 and two in 2018 with injuries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joel Embiid returns to action with a 26-point effort against the Celtics in Game 4. \u2022\u00a0Download the NBA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,306971,590,85],"class_list":["post-633714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-joel-embiid-return","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}