Related items

• George hyperextends knee in latest injury blow for Sixers

  The Philadelphia 76ers could be without Paul George for several weeks after he suffered a hyperextended left knee during their defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.

  The Sixers' miserable start to the season continued as they suffered their 12th defeat in 14 games – and their fifth in a row – at FedExForum, going down 117-111.

  Philadelphia fielded star trio George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey together for the first time after the latter recovered from a hamstring injury, but George was forced to exit early in the second half.

  George previously missed five games of preseason after hyperextending the same knee, and head coach Nick Nurse believes he could face a similar spell on the sidelines.

  "I think they said it was similar to last time, which was a bone bruise, I think," Nurse said. 

  "He was actually fairly close to coming back in the game, but then it kind of stiffened up as he got out a little bit more, so I decided not to, and now we got to take a look at it, make sure."

  However, Nurse was more upbeat when asked if the team could rule out structural damage to George's knee, saying: "I think so."

  George only managed two points, four rebounds and two assists in his 17 minutes on court, going 1-of-6 shooting.

  Despite Philadelphia continuing to be hamstrung by fitness concerns, Nurse admitted they had not done enough to warrant a better result.

  "Listen, it's certainly not easy," Nurse said. "Tyrese was just getting back and didn't really have a feel tonight, and Paul going out...

  "It's certainly not easy but we didn't put enough together again for 48."

  The Sixers have seven games in the next 14 days, starting with Friday's home encounter with the Brooklyn Nets and ending against the Orlando Magic on December 6.

• Sale, Skubal win MLB's Cy Young Awards

  Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal and Atlanta Braves lefty Chris Sale were each named the winner of their respective league’s Cy Young Award on Wednesday.

  The announcement was hardly a surprise after each ace won their league's pitching triple crown during the 2024 regular season.

  This is the first Cy Young for both pitchers.

  Skubal, who turned 28 on Wednesday, enjoyed a break-out year in his fourth full MLB season, and was a unanimous winner, receiving all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Kansas City Royals' Seth Lugo finished second and Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase finished third in the balloting, which was completed before the play-offs.

  Sale received 26 of 30 first-place votes, while Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler finished second, ahead of Pittsburgh Pirates righty Paul Skenes, who was selected as the National League Rookie of the Year on Monday.

  The 35-year-old Sale has come close to winning the award before, finishing as runner-up to Cleveland's Corey Kluber in 2017, with five other top-five finishes in voting since his first full season in the majors in 2011.

  Since the inception of the Cy Young Award in 1956, there have been 16 pitchers to win his league's pitching crown. And now, every one of them has also won that year's Cy Young.

  Skubal and Sale each won an MLB-best 18 games, while Skubal led all pitchers with 228 strikeouts – three more than Sale. Sale's ERA of 2.38 was just a tick better than Skubal's 2.39.

  Both were dominant down the stretch in leading their teams to the play-offs, with Sale permitting two earned runs or fewer in each of his final 18 regular-season starts, though he was unable to pitch in the season final or the Braves' NL Wild-Card series loss to the San Diego Padres because of a back injury.

  Skubal posted a 1.94 ERA in his final nine outings, and then threw 13 shutout innings in his first two play-off starts in helping the Tigers surprisingly reach the American League Division Series. He ended up going 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in three post-season starts.

  Skubal became the fifth Tiger to win the Cy Young trophy – and first since Max Scherzer in 2017 – and Sale is the fifth Brave to earn the award – and first since Hall of Famer Tom Glavine in 1998.

  Despite several close calls in Cy Young voting for Sale, he has dealt with injuries for the past five seasons, and was limited to a total of 151 innings over the past three years for the Boston Red Sox.

  In his first season with the Braves, however, he threw 177 2/3 innings and was awarded the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award last Thursday.

• Embiid eyeing back-to-backs despite 'tough' 76ers return

  Joel Embiid said the first five minutes of his NBA return were "tough", but knows he will become more comfortable as he eases back in with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

  Embiid made his first appearance in nine games on Tuesday due to the management of a left knee ailment stemming from the previous season and a three-match suspension. 

  However, he was unable to stop the 76ers' rough start to the season, going down 111-99 in the NBA Cup to the New York Knicks to move to 2-8 for the season. 

  Embiid looked understandably rusty in his 26-minute cameo, registering 13 points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field (but 8-for-8 from the free throw line), plus three rebounds, five assists and one block. 

  "I felt OK," Embiid said afterward. "The first five minutes were rough, but I guess that’s what happens when you haven’t played in a while. I felt after that, I still should be rusty.

  "That’s expected, but I thought overall, I felt pretty good health-wise. I think it’s just my trust in myself.

  "I thought I was a little timid, so I stuck with a lot of jumpers just to get myself a little comfortable, but as the games go, and I’ll get back to myself, it’s going to be easier."

  The first play of the game included Embiid throwing a perfect pass to Paul George for a layup, who cut baseline to get an easy look at the basket.

  George had his best game as a Sixer, scoring 29 points on 10-for-19 shooting and 7-for-11 from deep with 10 rebounds as he and Embiid finally got on the floor together for the first time.

  "It felt good," Embiid said of the pairing with George. "I thought tonight, he had a nice rhythm which we’re going to need him to keep doing.

  "Like I said, my job is to try and make the game easy for all those guys.

  "Setting screens and getting them open. Just try to make the game simple. Especially as I’m getting back and trying to feel more confident."

  But up next for the 76ers, who find themselves 14th in the Eastern Conference, are the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat the Chicago Bulls 119-113 on Tuesday. 

  Embiid has been on record saying he won't play in back-to-backs ever again in his career, but he stated that he will try to give it a go against the Cavs.

  "I mean, I want to," Embiid said. "That’s up to those guys. I know I said I’ll never play back-to-backs, but I’m a troll so I’m sure at some point, I’ll play, but if I feel good.

  "I feel good right now. We’re gonna see, but it’s up to them."