76ers’ Joel Embiid feeling ‘pretty good’ a day after injury scare vs. Knicks, coach Nick Nurse says; listed as questionable for Game 2

Joel Embiid was feeling “pretty good” a day after the 76ers superstar’s latest injury concern, according to his coach, but was officially listed as questionable for Monday’s Game 2 against the Knicks.

Embiid missed the final 2:37 of the second quarter of Game 1 on Saturday after appearing to tweak his left knee during an emphatic alley-oop dunk — the same knee he underwent surgery for in February.

He returned to start the third quarter and finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes in Philly’s 111-104 loss at Madison Square Garden to begin the first round of the playoffs.

“I asked him how he’s feeling and he said, ‘Pretty good,'” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said Sunday.

Embiid’s Game 2 designation, which came out Sunday, was for left knee injury recovery.

The reigning NBA MVP missed about two months after undergoing a procedure on the lateral meniscus in his left knee in early February. Saturday marked his seventh game back.

Saturday’s scare came after Embiid lobbed a pass to himself off of the backboard and finished the dunk, then landed on the ground and grabbed at his left knee.

“I knew when I went in at halftime that they were checking him out, and that he was up and moving,” Nurse said after the game. “And they did say, ‘We’re seeing.’ They didn’t rule him out yet. They just took him all the way to the end there to get him ruled back in.”

Nurse added the Sixers would continue to assess Embiid’s health but weren’t considering shutting him down.

“He’s really a warrior, and he’s battling,” Nurse said. “I think he absolutely wants to play.”

Embiid, who did not speak after the loss, previously came up gimpy during Philadelphia’s April 12 game against the Magic, only to finish that game as well.

“He’s always a fighter,” teammate Tyrese Maxey said Saturday. “He’s always going to go out there and try to give his all for his team, so if he’s able to go … he for sure will be out there.”

Embiid’s dunk on Saturday was his first since returning from the initial injury. He committed to the self-pass after Knicks center Mitchell Robinson bit on a pump fake at the free-throw line.

“I just think that was the play that happened,” Nurse said when asked if Embiid should play more cautiously. “He pump faked up and the guy jumped over him and he had an angle.”

Robinson, who underwent an in-season surgery of his own on his left ankle, made life difficult for Embiid in his 30 minutes off the Knicks bench. Embiid went just 8-of-22 from the field after making 52.9% of his shots in the regular season.

A hobbled or absent Embiid would serve as a significant advantage for the Knicks in the best-of-seven series, considering the do-it-all seven-time All-Star is a force on offense and defense. His 34.7 points and 5.6 assists per game marked career highs, though he is ineligible to repeat as league MVP after failing to appear in the requisite 65 games.

The Knicks ended Saturday’s second quarter on a 9-0 run following Embiid’s dunk.

Maxey exploded for a game-high 33 points, but Philly’s supporting cast mostly faltered, with Tobias Harris finishing with only seven points; Kelly Oubre adding 10; Nicolas Batum contributing three; and Buddy Hield going scoreless. The Knicks dominated the glass, outrebounding the Sixers, 55-33.

Game 2 between the No. 2-seed Knicks and seventh-seeded 76ers is set to take place Monday night at the Garden.

_____