Sports

Joel Embiid — battling Bell's palsy — turns in his finest playoff performance yet

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2024

Joel Embiid — battling Bell's palsy — turns in his finest playoff performance yet

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid walked off the podium and into the array of hallways of the Wells Fargo Center late Thursday evening wearing dark black sunglasses across his face. He had worn them for most of the night after the Philadelphia 76ers preserved their season with a grueling Game 3 win over the New York Knicks; in the locker room as he iced his leg and in a news conference in front of reporters and cameras.

Over the last week-and-a-half, Embiid has had Bell’s palsy, which has weakened the muscles on the left side of his face. It began with heavy migraines last week, just a day or so before the 76ers beat the Miami Heat in a Play-In Tournament game to notch the No. 7 seed. It has lingered, leaving his mouth drooped, and his eye dry, blurry and in constant need of drops.

The condition has been a nuisance, he said, but not a deterrent. This season has tested Embiid in many ways. He has seen an NBA All-Star teammate demand out, and a torn left meniscus erase two months from what had been an MVP-level campaign. The 76ers have had to preserve their season and win just to get into the postseason. Their hopes, and their safe passage, have always depended on Embiid.

They did again Thursday in a resounding Game 3 win, when Embiid turned in his finest playoff performance yet. Hampered by the still balky knee, and now bothered by this recent illness, he dropped 50 points on the Knicks in a 125-114 win that pulled Philadelphia to 2-1 in their first-round series.

Embiid was dominant and efficient. He made 13 of 19 shots and took 21 free throws. He catalyzed the 76ers during a 43-point third quarter when they erased a halftime deficit and took control of the game. When the 76ers’ season seemed to teeter, just one loss away from an-all-but-over series, Embiid stepped to the forefront one more time.

He did it, of course, in his own way. He nearly lost control in the first quarter and was almost ejected — arguably should have been — when he followed up an offensive foul with a Flagrant 1 a few possessions later. As he lay on the ground, Embiid pulled down opposing center Mitchell Robinson, who was leaping above him for a dunk. The play incensed the Knicks; Donte DiVincenzo called it “dirty.” But it served as a rebuke and nothing more for Embiid. Instead, he overpowered the Knicks the rest of the night.

Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points, Cameron Payne came off the bench for 11, and the Sixers drained 48.4 percent of their 31 3s. Yet, it was Embiid who carried them once again.

He outgunned Jalen Brunson, who finally broke out of his two-game slump. Brunson scored 39 points and dished out 13 assists after missing 39 of his first 55 shots this series and it still was not enough. Not when Embiid tormented the Knicks inside and out. Embiid hit five 3s and drew seven shooting fouls. The Knicks rolled out one big after another trying to stop him but couldn’t. Isaiah Hartenstein had five fouls, Robinson played just 12 minutes because of an ankle injury that forced him to miss the second half and still had three fouls.

“I got lucky,” Embiid said. “I made a few shots. But gotta keep taking them, press on that. Gotta keep trusting myself. Especially because the physical abilities are somewhat limited.”

Embiid had been slowed earlier in the series by his left knee, which he reaggravated in Game 1. He had missed 30 games with a torn left meniscus after surgery in February, and hurt it once more. Thursday, however, he seemed to be spry again. But the constant run of injuries and afflictions has worn on Embiid. He revealed his frustration as he explained his new bout of Bell’s palsy. It has, at times, forced him to ask himself why he has been such a magnet for bad luck.

“I say it every day,” he said. “It is unfortunate. Every single year you start asking yourself questions like ‘Why?’ Every single year. It’s very annoying. Maybe it’s just meant to be. You gotta just take it as it is. The one thing I’m not going to do is give up. No matter what happens. Gotta keep pushing, gotta keep fighting, gotta keep putting my body on the line.”

He has done that repeatedly. At 7-feet, 280 pounds, he has inflicted pain and been treated for it after a slew of injuries. They have left an imprint on him.

Thursday, it nearly caused him to get tossed out of the game. Embiid grabbed Robinson, he said, because he was worried about getting hurt one more time. He had injured his left knee after Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on it this January. That image, Embiid said, ran through his mind as he saw Robinson standing atop him in the first quarter. It put Robinson in danger, though officials deemed it was not worthy of a Flagrant 2.

“I kind of had some flashbacks when he came down to it,” Embiid said, rationalizing himself. “It’s unfortunate. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody. In those situations, I gotta protect myself because I’ve been in way too many situations where I’m the recipient of the bad end of it. It was unfortunate. But physical game. They want to bring their physicality. We can be physical, too, and we are. It goes both ways. I get bumped all over the place and I just keep playing. I can take it. I gotta keep my mind and make sure that I don’t get outside myself. I just gotta keep being myself, aggressive and physical.”

GO DEEPER

Joel Embiid’s ‘dirty’ flagrant foul on Mitchell Robinson is Game 3’s turning point

It was nearly the play that swung the game and the series. The Sixers might have been sunk without him and looking at one more early playoff exit. Instead, they’ll get to play Game 4 Sunday with a chance to tie up their series with the Knicks.

Embiid had predicted this late Monday night after a disastrous end to Game 2. It was a prediction uttered with the kind of confidence that comes with an MVP award and a place as one of the league’s best players. The Sixers, he said, should have been up 2-o in the series. The Sixers, he said, will win it anyway.

Predictions are easy. Thursday, Embiid backed it up. He became just the third player in Sixers history to score at least 50 points in a playoff game, and the first ever in NBA history to do it on fewer than 20 shots. Embiid hammered the Knicks with post ups and drives to the rim. He barreled in off screens and fired away from deep.

The 76ers followed suit. They took advantage of a physical game that occasionally grew chippy, if not more. After bemoaning the officials in Game 2, they committed seven fewer fouls than the Knicks and took 14 more free throws. The third-quarter surge served as a difference-maker and Philadelphia withstood New York in the fourth.

Now, it is a series again and the Sixers have regained their swagger. Embiid never lost his.

(Photo of Embiid: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)

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Sports

Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

Published

3 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”

Ponder was 23 years old.

Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)

Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.

Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.

The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.

Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)

“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”

Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.

Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)

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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Sports

No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Published

3 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.

Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.

“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”

It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.

Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.

Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.

“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”

UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.

“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”

UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.

USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away.

“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”

Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.

“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”

Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.

“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”

Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.

“Yes.”

Sports

Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

Published

15 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

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Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”

“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.

“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”

A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.

Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.

Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.

Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.

On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.

Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.

The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.

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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.