Embiid leaves Sixers vs. Pacers game after suffering face-to-face hit originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

When the Sixers walked out of the locker room to start the second half on Friday night, Joel Embiid wasn’t among them.

Early in the third quarter, the Sixers shut Embiid out for the remainder of their game against the Pacers.

After receiving an accidental blow to the right side of his face from Pacers shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin, Embiid exited the game with 6.5 seconds left in the second quarter. He will undergo further testing, a team official said.

As he chased down his own miss inside, Mathurin’s arm hit Embiid’s face. The seven-time All-Star stayed on the floor for a few minutes and went back to the locker room with a towel over his face.

Embiid was bothered by a problematic left knee earlier this season and missed 17 of the Sixers’ first 23 games. He has a history of facial injuries, suffering a left orbital fracture in 2018 and a right orbital fracture in 2022.

A Sixers official said after the game that Embiid was hit in the area of ​​his right cheek and that testing was ongoing.

The Sixers began the evening without Caleb Martin (right shoulder impingement), Kyle Lowry (lower back spasms) and Adem Bona (left knee tendinopathy). Their Big 3 of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have only played one full game together.

This is a developing story and will be updated.