Embiid out Thursday; to have MRI on left leg

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will miss Thursday's game at Utah after the reigning MVP hurt his left knee Tuesday in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Embiid will receive further evaluation on his knee over the next 24 hours, according to the Sixers.

Embiid scored 14 points in that game before limping to the locker room with 4:04 remaining after Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga fell on the 7-footer’s left leg.

This game marked Embiid’s return to action after an issue with his left knee prevented him from playing Saturday at Denver — scrapping a highly anticipated matchup with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic — or Monday at Portland.

“He obviously got landed on,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said after Wednesday’s game. “They’re going to do an MRI. ... It’s kind of unrelated to what’s been bothering him. We just wait on that.”

Embiid already has missed 12 games this season, jeopardizing his chances of being eligible for a second straight MVP award. The new collective bargaining agreement requires players, in most instances, to play in 65 regular-season games to be eligible for awards such as MVP or the All-NBA teams.

When healthy, Embiid has continued to perform at an MVP level. He is the NBA’s leading scorer at 35.3 points per game and is averaging 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. He scored a franchise-record 70 points to go along with 18 rebounds on Jan. 22 in a 133-124 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

The 76ers are 0-4 on their five-game trip.

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