Products You May Like
The Washington Wizards staved off a sweep on Monday with a 122-114 Game 4 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Of larger concern in Philadelphia is the status Joel Embiid, who missed most of the game with injury. The 76ers’ All-NBA center fell hard on his tailbone late in the first quarter with Philadelphia leading, 20-12.
He continued to play, but eventually exited the game with 36.5 seconds remaining in the quarter. He remained in the locker room for the entirety of the second quarter before the 76ers announced at halftime that he wouldn’t return, citing right knee soreness. How he suffered the injury and his status moving forward weren’t immediately clear.
Wizards run up big lead, fend off late 76ers surge
The Wizards took advantage of Embiid’s absence and ran up a lead as large as 92-78 late in the third quarter. The 76ers rallied back in fourth quarter to tie the game at 106. But Washington posted the game’s final surge with a 12-4 run to close the fourth quarter and force a Game 5.
The series will shift back to Philadelphia on Wednesday with the 76ers leading, 3-1.
Hachimura, Wizards backcourt lead the way
Washington saw big efforts from its backcourt duo of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal alongside a breakout performance from second-year forward Rui Hachimura playing in his fourth career playoff game.
Westbrook struggled from the floor, connecting on just 3 of 19 field goal attempts. But he made up for his misses elsewhere, tallying another huge triple double with 19 points 21 rebounds and 14 assists while doing most his scoring damage at the free-throw line (13 of 16).
Beal led the Wizards scoring effort with 27 points, but faced his own struggles while turning the ball over seven times. Hachimura was Washington’s most reliable weapon on Monday in an efficient 20-point, 12-rebound effort. He connected on 8 of 12 field goals and 3 of 6 3-point attempts and turned the ball over just once.
Tobias Harris led he 76ers in Embiid’s absence with 21 points and 13 rebounds. But he needed 24 shots to get there. Ben Simmons tallied 13 points and nine rebounds as Philadelphia didn’t muster enough firepower to overcome the absence of their MVP finalist.
The 76ers are a -5000 betting favorite to win the series despite Embiid’s injury.
More from Yahoo Sports: