Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid’s finger SNAPS during Oklahoma game but he plays on to help his side win – despite team-mate ‘nearly throwing up’ at gruesome injury
- Joel Embiid’s finger dislocated when he tried to claim the ball in a rebound
- He went off for treatment before returning to play the remainder of the match
- Embiid said the injury might force him out of the Philadelphia 76ers’ next game
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid suffered a gruesome injury that left his ring finger looking like the top of a used bendy drinking straw… but played on and scored 18 points to help them end a four-match losing streak against Oklahoma City Thunder.
Embiid’s ring finger, on his left hand, ended up grotesquely overlapping his small finger to the point that it seemed he had his fingers crossed. ‘I nearly threw up when I saw that,’ 76ers guard Ben Simmons said.
But Simmons’ stomach was soon settled, and so were the Sixers when Embiid needed nothing more than a quick trip to the locker room and some tape to fix himself up.
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers sustained a gruesome finger injury in the NBA
![The center dislocated his finger in the first quarter of the match with Oklahoma City Thunder](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/01/07/10/23098050-7860361-image-a-36_1578394163149.jpg)
The center dislocated his finger in the first quarter of the match with Oklahoma City Thunder
Embiid played through the unsightly injury and scored 18 points, Simmons had 17 points and 15 rebounds and Philadelphia snapped a four-game losing streak to win 120-113 on Monday night.
‘I’m glad he came back out,’ Simmons said. ‘We needed him. He’s a big part of this team.’
The All-Star center dislocated his finger in the first quarter but Embiid returned to start the second quarter, though the injury prevented him from playing with his usual force on the glass and he lost a bunch of rebounds to Steven Adams.
‘I felt my finger snapping and I thought I fractured it,’ Embiid said. ‘They did some X-rays and said it was nothing.’
Embiid said there was a chance he might not play Thursday against Boston.
‘I couldn’t go up with two hands,’ Embiid said. ‘There were a couple of times I could have grabbed with both hands but I just couldn’t. I just kept tapping it.’
![Embiid sustained the injury trying to reach the ball before an opponent could](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/01/07/13/23098420-7860361-Embiid_sustained_the_injury_trying_to_reach_the_ball_before_an_o-a-1_1578402023527.jpg)
Embiid sustained the injury trying to reach the ball before an opponent could
![Despite such a gruesome injury, Embiid played the whole match but may miss the next one](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/01/07/10/23098042-7860361-image-a-37_1578394286882.jpg)
Despite such a gruesome injury, Embiid played the whole match but may miss the next one
![Embiid said that when he first sustained the injury, he thought his finger had snapped](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/01/07/13/23098174-7860361-Embiid_said_that_when_he_first_sustained_the_injury_he_thought_h-a-11_1578403923042.jpg)
Embiid said that when he first sustained the injury, he thought his finger had snapped
The Thunder, who had won five straight, closed the scores within two with three minutes left before the Sixers scored nine straight points to put the game away. Embiid’s fingers looked fine on a dish to Tobias Harris for a dunk, and Harris buried a three to make it 115-106.
Adams had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Chris Paul scored 18 points.
‘We’ve gotten down and these guys always fight back,’ Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.
![Embiid said that despite getting treatment, he struggled to claim the ball with two hands](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/01/07/13/23098570-7860361-Embiid_said_that_despite_getting_treatment_he_struggled_to_claim-a-10_1578403922861.jpg)
Embiid said that despite getting treatment, he struggled to claim the ball with two hands
Josh Richardson scored 23 points for the Sixers, and Simmons fell two assists shy of a triple-double in another solid game without a basket beyond 22 feet.
Simmons is an All-Star and triple-double threat but for whatever reason, he won’t shoot three-pointers. His only two career threes have come this season and after he made one in a December 7 win against Cleveland, coach Brett Brown implored Simmons to shoot more of them.
‘This is what I want,’ Brown said that night. ‘I want a three-point shot per game, minimum. He will be liberated. His world will open up and, in many ways, so will ours.’
![Ben Simmons, Embiid's team-mate, said that he was nearly sick when he saw his finger](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/01/07/10/23098308-7860361-image-a-39_1578394594224.jpg)
Ben Simmons, Embiid’s team-mate, said that he was nearly sick when he saw his finger