TORONTO — Joel Embiid continued to wear a soft brace on his right hand and wrist to protect his thumb during Friday’s 76ers practice, but coach Doc Rivers did not express any concern that the injury will limit the MVP finalist during Saturday’s Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against the Raptors.
“He’s good,” Rivers said after the team session at Scotiabank Arena. “We did a lot of stuff [in practice]. We just don’t want anybody to hit his arm, his hand and all that. But he was fine.”
Embiid is not listed on the Sixers’ official injury report for Saturday’s game. He came into his Game 3 postgame news conference, after he buried the winning turnaround 3-pointer in overtime to give the Sixers a 3-0 series lead, wearing the brace. He said he “twisted” the thumb during the game, but added there was “no chance” it would keep him out of Saturday’s Game 4.
Embiid, who did not speak to the media following Friday’s practice, led the league in scoring (30.6 points per game) during the regular season, while adding 11.7 rebounds and a career-high 4.2 assists per game. In the first three games of the series against the Raptors, he has averaged 27.7 points on 51% shooting, 13 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
Raptors Rookie of the Year finalist Scottie Barnes, however, is listed as doubtful to play Saturday because of the sprained left ankle that kept him out of Games 2 and 3. Before Wednesday’s Game 3, Toronto coach Nick Nurse expressed optimism that Barnes could play in Saturday’s Game 4. The injury occurred in Game 1 last Saturday, when Embiid inadvertently stepped on Barnes’ foot.
Danny Green’s Game 3 technical by design
Danny Green got uncharacteristically heated during Wednesday’s Game 3, when arguing with an official following a loose-ball foul late in the second quarter resulted in him picking up a technical.
That was by design, Green said. The veteran wing said he thought the game’s physicality — and accompanying whistle from the officials — was getting “a little extreme.” Green said he then told teammate James Harden that he would “take one to give us a little lift, a little boost” after the Sixers trailed by as many as 17 points before their second-half rally.
“I also thought we were down and we needed some fire, some intensity,” Green said. " … but also set a tone and let it be known that we weren’t just going to lay down and [allow the Raptors to] make us play a certain way.”
The reaction by Green’s teammates, however, was not exactly part of the plan. Harden, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey all lightly pushed Green to physically separate him from officials to prevent him from being ejected for picking up a second technical.
“I’ve never gotten beat up by my teammates at the time of getting a tech,” Green said. “It’s a little different. When that tech happens, you usually get a chance to walk it off, walk to the bench.
“They said they were worried about me getting thrown out and they were trying to calm me down. But in the midst of doing that, I got a second beating, which made it look a little more dramatic than it actually was.”
Harris’ eye evidence of series’ physicality
Consider Tobias Harris the latest Sixer to withstand the brunt of the Raptors’ bruising style — literally. The standout forward had a blood spot in his left eye while speaking to reporters following Friday’s practice, and said the injury occurred sometime during Wednesday’s game.
“You see it?” Harris said when the injury was brought to his attention. “I don’t know what happened. All I know [is that] I woke up and see my eye [like this].”
Game 3 draws huge television audience
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s broadcast of Thursday’s Game 3 earned an 8.8 average household rating in the local market, the highest Sixers rating on the network since May 1, 2002, according to a news release provided by the team. That 2002 date was when the Sixers beat the Boston Celtics, 83-81, to force a decisive Game 5 in their first-round series.
Per the release, Wednesday’s Game 3 posted a peak household rating of 11.2 from 10:15-10:30 p.m. EST, which coincided with the final minutes or regulation before Embiid’s overtime game-winner. Across television and streaming, NBC Sports Philadelphia delivered a total audience delivery of more than 450,000 on average during the game, the release said.
