BOSTON \u2014 There\u2019s a tall tale, Mad Libs nature to Joel Embiid\u2019s injury history. A snake bit him somewhere along the way and just kept biting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Embiid\u2019s perspective on it all is telling. As he shared following a season-saving 33-point, eight-assist night Tuesday in the Sixers\u2019 Game 5 win at TD Garden over the Celtics<\/a>, Embiid is guided by a desire to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s it, really.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing about me is I\u2019ve dealt with a lot of stuff over my career,\u201d Embiid said after the Sixers trimmed their first-round playoff series deficit to 3-2. \u201cI don\u2019t complain. I just want to give as much as I can every single time I step on the floor. I know a lot of people might have takes that I might be lazy or whatever, but every single time I\u2019m on the floor, I want to play as hard as possible. I want to do whatever it takes to win a basketball game, whether it\u2019s on offense, on defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to play basketball, whether (or not) I\u2019m in good shape physically, mentally or whatever. I just want to enjoy these moments being part of a basketball team that\u2019s trying to accomplish something, and that\u2019s to win every single game.\u201d<\/p>\n Embiid\u2019s norm of playing through pain and discomfort popped up again in Game 5. He added an injury scare to his infinite list when he exited with a limp in the third quarter, but Embiid only missed a little under three minutes of action. Jaylen Brown appeared to inadvertently bump Embiid\u2019s knee after driving and pump faking inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI just heard that he kind of banged knees with somebody,\u201d Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. \u201cKnee on knee contact.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Asked about the moment, Embiid gave a straight-faced reply: \u201cI\u2019m good.\u201d<\/p>\n So \u2026 what happened?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t remember,\u201d he said with a bit of a mischievous grin.\u00a0<\/p>\n Postseason health trouble is habitual for Embiid. Right knee; left knee; orbital fractures; concussions; Bell\u2019s Palsy; gastroenteritis; appendicitis. While not immune to pain, he must have his own definition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sidelined for 17 spring days this time around as he recovered from an appendectomy, Embiid returned Sunday in the Sixers\u2019 woeful Game 4 loss.<\/a> Despite a cold shooting start to Game 5, he was dominant. Embiid logged 39 minutes, scored efficiently on a night he went 0 for 5 from three-point range, and anchored the Sixers\u2019 much-improved defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGive him a lot of credit, man,\u201d Nurse said. \u201cHe worked really hard to get back from this procedure that he had and played a lot of minutes. And I was super impressed by him on the defensive end tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n