PHILADELPHIA _ The emotions that Joel Embiid can elicit from 76ers fans were on full display in the span of seconds Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Wells Fargo Center.
Holding the ball at the foul line extended to the right of the basket with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter, the 7-2, 265-pounder took one power dribble past Mason Plumlee and threw down perhaps the most thunderous dunk of his season. But as the crowd erupted in unison, Embiid crumpled to the floor grasping his left knee, which buckled awkwardly back as he landed.
The deafening noise quickly evaporated as the maestro of "The Process" grimaced and rolled on the floor. As he rose, he ran in place for a couple of steps and the sigh of relief from the sold-out building created a breeze from all directions of about 20 mph.
Embiid returned in the fourth quarter for a bit, but came down gingerly after a basket early in the fourth and didn't return to the game in what the team described as a left knee contusion. Without their go-to player down the stretch, the Sixers scrapped and clawed and pulled out their eighth win in the last 10 games.
But the emotions of the fans weren't done as Robert Covington hit a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to give the Sixers a thrilling 93-92 win.
Embiid finished the night with 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocks during his abbreviated stint, which ended with 8:50 to go in the game. It stopped his streak of 10 consecutive games of scoring 20 or more points in less than 30 minutes of play. That is the most by a player in NBA history.
Portland guard Damian Lillard torched the Sixers for 16 points in the first quarter, which helped the Trail Blazers run out to a 56-43 lead at the break. All the good defense the Sixers had displayed over the past couple of weeks was absent for the most part, as Portland continuously got open looks.
But the Sixers righted themselves in the third, outscored the Trail Blazers by 27-15 in the period and kept it close throughout, setting up Covington's heroics.
Ersan Ilyasova led the Sixers (15-26) with 24 points, while Covington had 22. Lillard finished with a game-high 30 for Portland, which lost its fourth straight and fell to 18-27.
