Injuries abound as NBA playoffs enter second round

WASHINGTON: Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton are among the injured stars expected to be on the sidelines as the second round of the NBA playoffs begin on Sunday.

The top four seeds in both the Eastern and Western Conference advanced from the opening round, but few managed to get through unscathed.

Embiid, the NBA scoring leader from Cameroon, suffered a right orbital bone fracture and concussion in the 76ers’ series-clinching win at Toronto and is out indefinitely.

The 7-foot star was already nursing a thumb injury when he was struck in the face by the left elbow of countryman Pascal Siakam of the Raptors.

“I think he broke my face,” Embiid said. “But it’s all good in the playoffs.”

Embiid 26.2 points and 11.3 rebounds against Toronto. He had 30.6 points and 11.7 rebounds in a regular season and is a finalist for the NBA Most Valuable Player award.

Middleton, a 30-year-old forward, is expected to miss most if not all of the second round with a sprained left knee ligament.

Defending champion Milwaukee, sparked by Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo, will open a best-of-seven series against Boston on Sunday in the East while Golden State visit Memphis for their West opener on Sunday.

The other two conference semifinals begin Monday with Philadelphia at Miami and Dallas at Phoenix.

East top seed Miami had four standouts who didn’t practice on Friday, including forward Jimmy Butler with a knee injury and Kyle Lowry with a hamstring concern.

Butler averaged 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists a game for the Heat this season while guard Lowry, who won an NBA title with Toronto in 2019, had 13.4 points, 7.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game.

Memphis was without New Zealand big man Steven