Philadelphia bucks Embiid’s absence
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Josh Richardson scored 29 points and Al Horford stepped in to fill an offensive void as the Philadelphia 76ers shook off the absence of Joel Embiid to beat the
Boston Celtics 109-98 on Thursday.
Ben Simmons tallied 19 points and Horford chipped in with 17 for the Sixers, who have won all three
games this season over Boston and improved to 18-2 at home this NBA season.
“With Joel out that is a big part of our team, so we had to find another way to win,” said Horford. “We have to hold the fort down til he gets back.”
All-star center Embiid will undergo surgery on Friday for a torn ligament in his left ring finger and the club said he would be reevaluated in one to two weeks.
Embiid suffered the injury during Monday’s 120-113 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Embiid left in the first quarter but eventually returned after having two fingers taped together.
Kemba Walker scored a teamhigh 26 points, Marcus Smart added 24 and Jayson Tatum had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost three in a row for the first time this season.
It was another case of the Celtics giving up a lead and being unable to bounce back. They were coming off a 129-114 loss to San Antonio on Wednesday.
LeBron leads All-Star voting
Meanwhile, five-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James leaped over Slovenian guard Luka Doncic and reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to lead early fan voting totals for the NBA All-Star Game released Thursday.
Los Angeles Lakers star James was more than 53,000 votes behind Dallas star Doncic for the top spot in last week’s first early voting results announcement by the league.