Joel Embiid ruled out of Philadelphia 76ers grudge match with Oklahoma City Thunder
Friday 1 March 2019 04:25, UK
Philadelphia 76ers say Joel Embiid will miss Thursday's road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a knee injury.
It will be the fourth straight game Embiid will miss due to the sore left knee and he could also be absent for Saturday's home game against the Golden State Warriors.
Embiid began experiencing difficulties prior to the All-Star break and was initially expected to miss a week.
The 24-year-old is averaging 27.3 points and 13.5 rebounds in 54 games this season.
Embiid and Russell Westbrook exchanged words when the Thunder defeated the 76ers 117-115 in Philadelphia on January 19, after Westbrook took exception to a hard foul.
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And Westbrook was not interested in smoothing things over when the two were in Charlotte during All-Star weekend.
Philadelphia's back-up centre Boban Marjanovic will also miss Thursday's contest after injuring his right knee during Tuesday's 111-110 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Marjanovic will be re-evaluated in five to seven days, according to the club.
The team will be without guard Furkan Korkmaz for at least four weeks, after he underwent right knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear on Tuesday.
