Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid suffered his latest injury Friday night when he was struck in the face in a 121-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Embiid was diagnosed with a sinus fracture and will be further evaluated over the weekend.
Embiid was battling Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin when he caught an errant forearm and elbow to the bridge of the nose. Embiid crumpled to the ground as play continued up the floor and he stayed down near the Philadelphia bench, holding his face.
Playing just his sixth game of the season, Embiid had 12 points, four rebounds and five assists in 17 1/2 minutes.
He has been bothered by swelling in his left knee and also served a three-game suspension for a physical incident with a reporter.
Embiid also has had a number of face injuries, including an orbital bone fracture after a collision with Toronto’s Pascal Siakam during the 2022 playoffs and one in 2018 after colliding with teammate Markelle Fultz. Last year, Embiid had Bell’s Palsy during a first-round playoff loss to New York.
Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George - billed as Philadelphia’s “Big Three” after George’s offseason arrival - have played parts of only three games together. The Sixers are 7-16 on the season.
Tyrese Haliburton had 32 points and 11 assists and Pascal Siakam added 23 points for Indiana.
Durant sparks Suns in return
Devin Booker scored 34 points and Kevin Durant added 30 in his return to Phoenix's lineup, leading the Suns to a 134-126 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Durant and Booker also each had eight assists to help the Suns snap a three-game losing streak. Tyus Jones tallied 19 points and 11 assists.
Durant missed three games because of a left ankle sprain. Suns center Jusuf Nurkic also was back after sitting out five games with a left ankle sprain and right thigh contusion.
Jordan Clarkson also returned for Utah following a seven-game absence because of plantar fasciitis. Clarkson led the Jazz with 23 points, John Collins added 22 and Lauri Markkanen had 19.
Grizzlies beat Nets to stay red hot
Ja Morant had 28 points and 10 assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Brooklyn Nets 135-119 for their fourth consecutive win.
Desmond Bane added 21 points as Memphis improved to 10-1 in its last 11 games overall. Santi Aldama and Jaren Jackson Jr. each had 20 points.
Dorian Finney-Smith led the Nets with 19 points, while Dennis Schröder and Jalen Wilson each finished with 15. Brooklyn lost for the fifth time in six games.
The Nets put together an 11-0 run early in the third quarter to erase a double-digit deficit, but the Grizzlies answered with an 18-3 burst that pushed the lead back to 17 points.
Jamaica advance through qualifying round at FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup; will play Canada and Argentina in Pool C
Jamaica have successfully booked their spot in the FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup main draw after getting through qualifying on Thursday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Jamaicans were drawn in Group B of the qualifying round alongside Trinidad & Tobago, St. Kitts & Nevis and Cuba with only the group winner advancing to the main tournament.
They first secured a comfortable 21-7 win over St. Kitts & Nevis in their opening game thanks to nine points from Nicholai Brown and six point from Jabulani Newby.
They next took on Cuba, securing another dominant win, this time 22-4. Newby led the scoring this time with 11 while Lushane Wilson and Xavier Cheatham-Sewell had five points, each.
Those wins set up a winner-take-all game against T&T who also won their first two games on Thursday.
Newby scored ten points while Cheatham-Sewel had eight as Jamaica edged out a 21-17 win to advance to the main tournament where they now join Canada and Argentina in Pool C.
They will open Pool C action against Canada at 4:45pm Jamaica time before taking on Argentina at 7:00pm Jamaica time.
Haiti also made it through qualifying to join Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in Pool C.
'Gassed' LeBron to miss Timberwolves clash due to 'personal reasons'
JJ Redick confirmed that LeBron James will miss the Los Angeles Lakers' Friday fixture against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to "personal reasons".
James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, was also absent from the Lakers' 107-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers with foot soreness, his first missed game of the season.
The 39-year-old expressed a desire earlier this season to play in all 82 games, but the Lakers are now being practical with the minor injuries that arise during any campaign.
While he already has six triple-doubles this season, his 23 points per game are the lowest he's posted since his rookie season, over 20 years ago with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James, however, is averaging eight rebounds and nine assists per game, both over his career totals, but Redick said the four-time MVP asked for some time away from the court.
"LeBron is not with the team right now," Redick told reporters after practice. "He’s out for personal reasons, an excused absence."
"For us, we have to be cognisant as we play more and more games," Redick said ahead of the game.
"Just the cumulative effect of playing a lot of minutes and Sunday, being banged up with the foot thing, it felt like a good opportunity for him to get some rest."
The Lakers are on a 3-7 skid since their 10-4 start to the season, but Redick remains confident in their ability to fix the problems.
Redick highlighted the importance of remaining strong defensively against the Timberwolves, insisting that communication will be key to halting their recent slump.
“In the Minnesota game, we were in a 1-5 ‘Red’ to start, did not execute our switches, were not physical, did not communicate,” Redick said.
“Communication was a big issue in Miami as well, no matter what we tried with matchups. Again, you can’t play basketball and not talk.
"So in terms of technique and schemes, if you don’t talk, you’re dead.
“So in terms of tweaking stuff, we’ve done it in coverage, we’ve done it with 1-5, and we’ve done it being physical, and we’ve done it talking.
"That’s what we have to do, and we can make adjustments on that. If you’re not talking, and you’re not competing, you can’t really make adjustments.”
NBA: Adebayo, Herro lead Heat to 4th straight victory
Bam Adebayo had 21 points,16 rebounds and five assists as the Miami Heat rallied for their season-high fourth straight victory, 114-104 over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
Tyler Herro led Miami with 23 points, Nikola Jovic added 14 and Jimmy Butler and Dru Smith each had 11.
Gradey Dick scored 22 points, and Jakob Poetl added 16 for the Raptors, who fell to 1-12 on the road. Team scoring leader RJ Barrett had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Down 16 three minutes into the second quarter, Miami outscored Toronto 33-10 the rest of the first half. Jovic scored 11 points, hitting two 3-pointers, during the surge.
The Heat outrebounded the Raptors 52-42. They also had double-digit rebound advantages in the other homestand wins over the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix and Cleveland.
Sabonis leads Kings over Pelicans
Domantas Sabonas scored a season-high 32 points and matched a season best with 20 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-109.
DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, while De'Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray each added 18 for the Kings, who have won three straight and four of five.
CJ McCollum hit a season-high six 3-pointers and scored 36 points for New Orleans. His three-point play on a floater off the glass as he was falling after being fouled by Fox made it 111-109 with 1:20 left.
The Pelicans then got two straight defensive stops, giving them a chance to shoot for a tie or victory in the final seconds. But Malik Monk took the ball from Dejounte Murray in what was technically scored as a block and Sabonis grabbed the loose ball for his final rebound to seal the result.
Trey Murphy III scored 21 points for New Orleans, but just five after the first quarter. Murray finished with 20 points for the Pelicans, who've lost 21 of their last 24 games.
Pritchard’s big night powers Celtics
Payton Pritchard scored 27 points and hit seven of the Boston Celtics’ 20 3-pointers in a 123-99 rout of the Detroit Pistons despite the absence of All-Star forward Jayson Tatum.
Derrick White added 23 points and also had seven 3s as the Celtics won for the fourth time in five games. Pritchard made his 500th career 3-pointer, becoming the 10th Celtic to reach that mark.
Boston led by as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter and had six players score in double figures.
Cade Cunningham had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Pistons, who misfired on 30 of 37 from long range.
Tatum rested with a sore right knee, an injury coach Joe Mazzulla said isn't serious.
Boston outscored Detroit 34-24 in the third quarter to increase a 15-point halftime lead to 93-68 entering the fourth.
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