Philadelphia 76ers’ Jared McCain returns from hard fall vs Pacers

On December 15, 2024By Littum

Heading into their Friday night game against the Indiana Pacers, the Philadelphia 76ers looked forward to having most of the team healthy. Although rookie center Adem Bona and veteran forward Caleb Martin were ruled out, the rest of the non-two-way players were healthy and ready to roll.

Midway through the game, the Sixers were down two key players at one point.

Rookie Jared McCain was the other player to go down after hitting his head in the third quarter. After being helped up, McCain was taken out of the game and immediately went back to the 76ers’ locker room to be checked out.

Sixers’ rookie Jared McCain comes down hard on his back and possibly hits his head on the hardwood (no clear shot of the impact, but the sound isn’t great).

McCain stood up but looked disoriented and has been pulled from the game. pic.twitter.com/58dKj5kwSn

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) 14 December 2024

Fortunately, that wasn’t the end of McCain’s night. After being evaluated for a concussion, McCain cleared the protocol. Not long after leaving the field, the rookie returned to action.

McCain initially left the game after spending 19 minutes on the field. During that time, he shot 2-4 from the field to score five points off the bench. The rookie also had three assists.

Prior to McCain’s temporary exit, the Sixers lost seven-time All-Star center Joel Embiid.

Late in the second quarter, Embiid took an elbow to the face. The big man was down on the field for a while before he was helped off. He went straight back to the team’s locker room to be checked out before halftime.

When the Sixers returned to the court for the start of the second half, Embiid was noticeably absent. Shortly after play restarted, the Sixers ruled Embiid out for the rest of the game. A team official noted that he was undergoing further testing due to an “affecting the right side of the face.”

Embiid left the game after producing 12 points, four rebounds and five assists in 17 minutes of action. Friday’s matchup was his second game back since returning from seven games.