Sixers' Plane Broke Down In Washington Monday Night, Team Forced To Ride Bus Back To Philadelphia: Team Source Says
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) -- A team source tells Eyewitness News that the Sixers had to take a bus back to Philadelphia after their plane broke down in Washington, D.C. Monday night. It's unclear what caused the plane to break down and we are still waiting to hear from the team about media availability for Tuesday.
The issue with the plane was first reported by John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Sixers lost NBA MVP finalist Joel Embiid to knee soreness late in the first quarter of Monday night's Game 4 loss to the Wizards. Embiid took a hard fall behind the baseline when his shot was blocked by Wizards' Robin Lopez. He tried to play on, wincing and leaning over during breaks in play prior to checking out and eventually limping off.
He never returned and finished with eight points and six rebounds in 11 minutes.
It was a tight game down the stretch and late in the fourth quarter, Washington basically took the ball out of Philadelphia's hands, sending Ben Simmons to the line repeatedly with a version of the old Hack-a-Shaq strategy that Shaquille O'Neal used to face.
Simmons came into the night 0 for 9 on free throws in the series and was 1 for 3 for the night before Hack-a-Ben went into full effect — he made 1 of 2 tries each of the final four times he stepped to the line to end up 5 for 11.
He had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Tobias Harris led the 76ers with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
The Sixers lead the series 3-1.
Game 4 will be back in Philadelphia on Wednesday. It will be the first time the Wells Fargo Center will the at 100% capacity since before the coronavirus pandemic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
