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Joel Embiid leaves game against Portland early with ankle injury, will not return

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid left their 124-121 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers early in the first quarter on Sunday afternoon with a left ankle injury and did not return.

Embiid tweaked his left ankle midway in the first quarter while fighting for a rebound with Blazers forward Zach Collins under the hoop. He didn’t go down but was clearly in pain, and was seen attempting to stretch out during a timeout. He later left the court for the locker room, and was seen limping out of the arena.

Embiid finished with two points and four rebounds in less than six minutes. The severity of his injury isn’t yet known, however he did rejoin his team on the bench in the third quarter.

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The 76ers lost star Ben Simmons earlier this week, too, as he had to leave the bubble to undergo surgery on his left knee. Losing both Simmons and Embiid for an extended period of time will undoubtedly hinder Philadelphia in its playoff push, though the team is locked in to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and well ahead of the seventh-place Brooklyn Nets.

Damian Lillard drops 51

The 76ers rallied back from an early 17-point deficit in the third quarter, outsourcing Portland by 10 in the period before taking a slight lead in the fourth. The Blazers went on a 7-0 run with less than three minutes left, however, to retake control of the game. While Al Horford drilled a 3-pointer to bring them within one with just 13 seconds left, the Blazers held on to grab the three-point win.

Josh Richardson led the 76ers with 34 points in the loss, shooting an impressive 6-of-10 from the 3-point line. Alec Burks added 20 off the bench, and Tobias Harris finished with 16.

Damian Lillard dropped 51 points in the win while shooting 16-of-28 from the field. Carmelo Anthony added 20, and CJ McCollum finished with 16. The Blazers have now won three of their last four and are fighting for a spot in the Western Conference play-in series in an attempt to reach the postseason.

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