Philadelphia 76ers’ Paul George will miss Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets with a bone bruise suffered in Wednesday’s game versus the Memphis Grizzles, per the NBA’s official injury report.
George’s injury came in the 76ers’ first game with stars George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey all healthy at the same time. But the team suffered yet another injury setback when George, the team’s marquee free-agent acquisition, exited with a hyperextended left knee early in the second half of a 117-111 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
After the game, the team said George will not undergo an MRI, which could be a positive sign.
George’s hyperextended knee is the same knee he injured in the preseason, which caused him to miss the first five games of the season.
George appeared to suffer the injury early in the third quarter while jumping for a rebound. He would later be ruled out, ending his night after 17 minutes with just two points on six shots. Maxey, returning from a hamstring injury and on a minutes limit, also struggled, finishing with eight points on 13 shots. Embiid notched a season-high 35 points in his fourth game of the campaign, but it wasn’t enough.
“It sucks. I know how it feels, I’ve been there,” Maxey said of George’s injury. “I just lost six or seven games to injury, so it hurts to see a teammate get hurt.”
With George’s injury, plus Embiid’s absences due to left knee injury management and a three-game suspension for shoving a local columnist, the Sixers have gotten off to their slowest start in years, falling to 2-12 with Wednesday’s loss. They sit in last place in the Eastern Conference standings.
(Photo: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
