76ers win after getting news Embiid to undergo surgery

Josh Richardson scored 29 points, Ben Simmons had 19 and the Philadelphia 76ers won without injured center Joel Embiid, beating the Boston Celtics 109-98 on Thursday night at home.

Embiid will have surgery today for a torn ligament in a finger in his left hand and will be evaluated in one to two weeks. Embiid, averaging 23.4 points and 12.3 rebounds in 31 games this season, tore the radial collateral ligament in the ring finger Monday night in a victory over Oklahoma City.

“I’m putting a blow torch, a bullet, many bullets into what we used to do,” coach Brett Brown said. “Really. It doesn’t fit. So it’s on me to make it fit. We don’t have Joel Embiid. So when I say, ‘ blow torch and bullet,’ I mean it.”

Mike Scott slid into the starting rotation, along with Al Horford, Tobias Harris, Richardson and Simmons. Simmons played center at times and drew a charge on Enes Kanter with 1:45 left in the first quarter.

The Celtics had their own injury scare when Kemba Walker, ejected for the first time in his nine-year NBA career a night earlier, sprained his left thumb. Walker ran into Scott and instantly clutched his hand late in the second quarter. Walker, who scored 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting, tried to shake it off but left for the locker room shortly before the Celtics took a 55- 48 lead into halftime.

He looked fine when he returned to the lineup. Jayson Tatum and Walker hit back-to-back 3s to tie the game at 69-all in the third and wipe out a hole caused by the Sixers’ 11- 0 run to start the half.

The 25-year- old Embiid has struggled with injuries ever since he was drafted with the No. 3 pick of the 2014 draft. He missed his first two seasons with foot injuries and hasn’t played more than 64 games in any of the last three. They’re 4- 4 this season when Embiid sits out.

“This is not a ‘ woe is me’ moment, not for me, at all,” Brown said. “And not for my players. We’ll take what we have, and what we have, I love.”

BEILEIN APOLOGIZES » John Beilein’s first season as an NBA coach took another turbulent turn because of a comment he made during a film session.

Beilein said before the Cavs topped the Pistons 115112 he had apologized after using the word “thugs” while reviewing film with his players. ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, reported that Beilein suggested during a Wednesday film session his players were no longer playing “like a bunch of thugs.” Beilein told ESPN he had meant to say “slugs” in reference to the team’s effort level.

Beilein repeated that explanation Thursday after his team’s shootaround in Detroit, hours before the Cavaliers faced the Pistons.

“I was saying: ‘ We’re making a lot of mistakes mentally, and we deserve better because we’re really playing hard right now. We’re not playing like slugs. We’re playing hard,’” Beilein said. “And somehow that word came out.”

Beilein said he called the players afterward to explain the situation and said he apologized.

“There was really positive reinforcement from the guys this morning and last night. Very understanding, but it’s something that certainly they understand that it was serious,” Beilein said. “Something that shouldn’t have happened.”

WIGGINS, WOLVES SHUT

DOWN TRAIL BLAZERS » Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points, Gorgui Dieng had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Portland Trail Blazers 116-102 at home.

Minnesota held Portland to 13 points on 6- of22 shooting in the second quarter, the fewest points the Blazers have scored in a quarter this year.

Minnesota was without star big man Karl-Anthony Towns for the 12th straight game with a left knee sprain.