Nick Nurse addresses Joel Embiid's Bell's Palsy, chippy play from Game 3

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – APRIL 25: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks during game three of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on April 25, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers were able to come up with a pivotal 125-114 Game 3 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday thanks to the heroics of Joel Embiid. The big fella put up 50 points on 13-for-19 shooting and 19-for-21 from the free-throw line.

Afterwards, he discussed dealing with Bell’s Palsy which is affecting the muscles on the left side of his face. He admitted that it has been tough for him to see at times and he has been battling through not only that issue, but is still recovering from the meniscus issue in his left knee.

Coach Nick Nurse was repeatedly asked about Embiid’s eye issue in the past, but Embiid wanted it to remain private so Nurse respected it. Now that it’s out in the open, Nurse addressed the issue for his superstar center.

“So basically, there’s kind of the daily check in on him, right?” Nurse said on Friday. “Just to make sure if he’s available or not and that’s kinda always the answer that I’m trying to get to. Obviously, he kinda had this—I kinda consider a personal thing and I just was always just wondering where he was and, obviously, you know it’s affecting him, but not to the point where he can’t see and he can’t play, right?”

To Embiid’s credit, he is putting his body on the line at the moment for the city of Philadelphia and wants to push through to lead this Sixers team. Nurse is just waiting for the update from the medical team to give him the latest on Embiid as they move forward.

“That’s where I’m always at,” Nurse continued. “There’s a lot of other people working to see where they’re at and they gotta get the information to me. He’s obviously dealing with a lot, but he’s obviously playing through it.”

When considering the fact that he’s dealing with all that and still dropping 50 points in a playoff game, Nurse was impressed as his eyes got wide and said: “Absolutely!”

On the flip side, there was a lot of chippiness in Game 3. Embiid was called for a flagrant-1 foul in the first quarter when he grabbed Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson’s leg when he was in a tough position on the floor. One could have argued that it was a flagrant-2 and should have been an ejection.

As a coach, Nurse understands the stakes of the game and the Sixers will have to move forward as the series continues to get more physical.

“I think about every time these two teams play each other—regular season or playoffs—it’s a rivalry, man,” Nurse stated. “It’s intense. It’s got history. It’s physical. Now, it’s the playoffs on top of it, right? As far as did I say ‘Hey calm down’? No. I think they were kinda isolated incidents. It seemed like they happened right on top of each other there for a bit. They just happened, but it’s physical, man. You never know when there’s gonna be a real physical play in that game. It just so happened to be early.”

Game 4 is Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Nick Nurse addresses Joel Embiid’s Bell’s Palsy, chippy play from Game 3