76ers don’t know when he will return Embiid

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said his message to injured superstar Joel Embiid and the rest of his team before Game 4 of their first-round series with the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center was the same: deal with Embiid’s last postseason. The injury is just another thing to handle in what the 76ers hope will be a long and successful playoff run.

“Obviously, clearly that’s on your mind,” Rivers said of Embiid’s injury history after suffering a sprained right knee in Philadelphia’s Game 3 win Thursday night. “But like I said, this is another hurdle in the history we’re going to write this year, and you’re going to be fine. It may take a minute, but this is just a part of it.”

“For me, I’m sure … it’s human, and my God, this happens again. Let’s win, let’s put it back on the court and go on our own journey.”

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported Friday that Embiid’s sprained right knee would rule him out for Game 4, though there was optimism that Embiid could return early next week.

Asked if he believed Embiid could return in this series, assuming Brooklyn extends him to at least Game 5 with a win on Saturday, Rivers said, “I don’t know. I can’t answer that, but I’m not sure.”

Embiid suffered the injury early in the third quarter when he landed awkwardly after trying to contest a feed from Nets forward Cam Johnson. Embiid stayed in the game and made a game-saving block on a feed from Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie in the closing seconds to preserve the victory, one that put Brooklyn ahead 3-0 in this best-of-seven series, before Rivers said swelling and pain behind the knee prompted an MRI. “Just the tests after the game in the locker room,” Rivers said when asked what prompted Embiid to have his knee checked out. “Think about it, down the stretch he made two unbelievable plays. The blocked shot was huge, but from what I understand, he had his knee checked right after the game because he was complaining of pain behind his knee, which is always scary to hear with players. There was already swelling, which is too soon, so we did the MRI.

“As a coach, I hate that word. I hate those three letters, because it never comes out right. It just feels like that, every time they tell a coach you’re going to get an MRI, it doesn’t come out right most of the time, and this time it didn’t.”

Embiid, an MVP Award finalist for the third straight season, led the NBA in scoring for the second straight year, averaging 33.1 points. Still, this is not the first time the 76ers have had to play without him.