New York’s big man ended up having to exit the game after he took a variety of hits.
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson was forced to exit his team’s 125-114 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN:
“Mitchell Robinson is out for the rest of the game with the left ankle that he was questionable with coming in. Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey had his leg rolled up on and briefly was down on the ground in pain, but is up and on his feet now and staying in.”
Robinson suffered a sprained left ankle in the first half and attempted to warm up after halftime but was seen limping back to the Knicks’ locker room.
Robinson managed to play 12 minutes for the Knicks in the first half and scored two points on 1-for-3 from the floor (0-for-2 from the line) with seven rebounds and three personal fouls. He was plus-7 during his time on the court.
It is not clear when he aggravated the ankle injury, but he was involved in a controversial play with 76ers center Joel Embiid who, while lying on the ground in the paint, grabbed Robinson’s legs when he was in the air. The play resulted in a technical foul and Flagrant Foul 1 on Embiid.
Joel Embiid got a flagrant 1 for this foul on Mitchell Robinson 😳 pic.twitter.com/2GP6aYi0v9
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 26, 2024
Later in the game, Embiid also kicked the Knicks center in a very uncomfortable place:
Mitchell Robinson looks like he’ll be out with an ankle injury for the rest of the game following this play.
Also struck in the groin by Embiid lifting his leg in a non-basketball move. pic.twitter.com/2oJMaCBzuw
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) April 26, 2024
The Knicks are hoping that it’s nothing serious. The left ankle is the same one that was surgically repaired earlier this year and kept the center out for 50 games during the regular season. Robinson was questionable entering the game with the injury.
Knicks fall to 76ers in physical Game 3
The Knicks had a chance to take control of their first round series against the 76ers, but Philadelphia came out swinging against New York.
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Joel Embiid, despite his extracurricular physicality, was absolutely dominant for his team. Embiid torched the Knicks for 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-shifting third quarter.
With one of the best playoff performances of his NBA career, Embiid became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the playoffs and kept the hope of a 76ers series comeback alive.
It makes sense that once Robinson went down, Embiid was able to kick things into an even higher gear. Isaiah Hartenstein did an admirable job defending him but between fatigue and foul trouble, he was only able to do so much. Hartenstein had five fouls in 26 minutes of action for the Knicks.
Jalen Brunson did everything he could for New York. After struggling for the first two games of the series, Brunson lead the Knicks with 39 points on 13-27 shooting. He also had 13 assists in the loss.
Game 4 between the Knicks and the 76ers will be played on Sunday in a matinee game from Philadelphia.
