PHILADELPHIA — The side of P.J. Tucker’s knee inadvertently banged into Joel Embiid’s head as the 76ers’ All-NBA center fell to the ground late in the second quarter of Wednesday’s preseason finale against the Charlotte Hornets, a collision that resulted in Tucker taking an early visit to the home locker room.
Tucker was back on the floor a few minutes later, launching 3-pointers as the Sixers warmed up while clearly testing how his knee felt. The 37-year-old forward — and the Sixers’ prized free-agency acquisition — then began the second half with the rest of the starters, en route to a 99-94 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
So, crisis averted. But it was the sign that it was time for the Sixers to power down the preseason and begin preparing for a marquee regular-season opener Tuesday night at the Boston Celtics, last season’s Eastern Conference representative in the NBA Finals.
Even before the brief injury scare, Wednesday’s action felt very much like a final preseason outing. Though the Sixers had all their rotation players available, they shot 39.3% from the floor and 11 of 35 from 3-point range. But they took advantage of a Hornets team playing without star point guard LaMelo Ball (sprained ankle), scoring 19 points off 24 Charlotte turnovers.
Embiid (19 points, six rebounds) and James Harden (17 points, five assists) paced their scoring, while Tyrese Maxey (3 of 13, nine points) struggled with his shot for the first time in the preseason and Tobias Harris went 0 for 5 from the floor.
Embiid’s return
After resting Monday’s preseason contest in Cleveland, Embiid took advantage of his matchup with the Hornets’ Mason Plumlee. He went 8 of 17 from the floor, mixing jumpers over the top with finishes inside.
He hit a pull-up on the Sixers’ first possession. He buried a turnaround later in the period. Right after he re-entered the game about midway through the second, he drained another off-the-dribble jumper. And he weathered picking up two fouls in the game’s first two minutes.
Embiid’s night finished at 23 minutes, shortly after a massive swat on the Hornets’ Terry Rozier.
Harrell’s spark
Montrezl Harrell also missed Monday’s win in Cleveland with a rib muscle injury, but was a bench spark with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and six rebounds as the backup center against the Hornets.
After entering for Embiid late in the first quarter, he immediately finished inside and hit a push shot while playing off Harden. Later, he secured an offensive rebound and put-back. Shortly after replacing Embiid in the third, Harrell rattled home a dunk off a pass from Maxey. After following his own miss down low, he hollered and banged his head with his fists.
Harrell is competing with Paul Reed, who did not play until the fourth quarter Wednesday, for that backup center job. Coach Doc Rivers, however, said he expects both players to be in the regular rotation, since Harrell and Reed can also play power forward.
Other rotation notes
— De’Anthony Melton (five points, five rebounds, three assists) was the first Sixer off the bench again Wednesday, allowing him to play alongside Harden and Maxey in the backcourt.
— The Sixers began the second quarter with the grouping of Maxey, Melton, Harrell, Danuel House Jr. and George Niang.
— Like Reed, guards Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz and wing Matisse Thybulle did not play until the second half. Isaiah Joe and Charles Bassey did not play.
